Department for Business and Trade

UK Defence and Security Exports: Staff

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many staff at UK Defence and Security Exports were based overseas in each year since 2019.

Alan Mak: UK Defence and Security Exports do not have any employed staff based overseas.

UK Defence and Security Exports: Staff

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many staff at UK Defence and Security Exports work in the regional team that covers the Americas, Pacific and East Asia.

Alan Mak: UK Defence and Security Exports have 16 members of staff working in the regional team that covers Americas, Pacific and East Asia.

UK Defence and Security Exports: Trade Fairs

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many SME defence firms have used the showcase pod at events supported by UK Defence and Security Exports in each year since 2019.

Alan Mak: UK Defence and Security Exports (UKDSE) estimate that a total of 171 UK SME defence firms have used the showcase pod at events supported by UKDSE, from 01 January 2019 to present (22 April 2024) 2019 66 2020 (Reduced activity due to Covid-19 pandemic)  5 2021 (Reduced activity due to Covid-19 pandemic) 3 2022  42 2023 41 2024 - to date  14

UK Defence and Security Exports: Trade Fairs

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many defence firms were supported by UK Defence and Security Exports to attend (a) Oceanology International and (b) Defence Procurement Research, Technology and Exportability (DPRTE) in 2024.

Alan Mak: a) Oceanology International 0 – UKDSE did not support any defence companies to attend this event. b) DPRTE 0 – UKDSE did not support any defence companies to attend this event.

UK Defence and Security Exports

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many businesses completed the (a) land, (b) maritime, (c) air, (d) security and (e) cyber security modules delivered by the UK Defence and Security Exports export faculty in each year since 2019.

Alan Mak: Information is not recorded per year, below is the total number of businesses that have completed the listed modules: (a) land - 236 (b) maritime - 236 (c) air - 236 (d) security - 206 (e) cyber security - 206

UK Defence and Security Exports: Trade Fairs

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many defence firms were supported by UK Defence and Security Exports to attend (a) Intersec and (b) the World Police Summit in 2024.

Alan Mak: a) Intersec0 – UKDSE did not support any defence companies to attend this security focussed event. b) World Police Summit 0 – UKDSE did not support any defence companies to attend this security focussed event.

UK Defence and Security Exports

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many businesses attended the (a) export licencing, (b) doing business with prime contractors, (c) working with the media, (d) preparing for events, (e) finance for export, (f) support from other government departments and bodies, (g) developing export strategies, (h) global market focus, (i) business culture and know how across the world and (j) pitching for international contracts sessions led by the UK Defence and Security Exports export faculty in each year since 2019.

Alan Mak: a) export licencing – No information available.  b) doing business with prime contractors – 26 individuals attended live.  c) working with the media – No session held to date.  d) preparing for events – 29 attended live.  e) finance for export – 11 attended live.  f) support from other government departments and bodies – No session held to date.  g) developing export strategies – No session held to date.  h) global market focus – No session held to date.  i) business culture and know how across the world – No session held to date.  j) pitching for international contracts sessions – No information available.

UK Defence and Security Exports: Trade Fairs

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many defence firms requested that a serving member of the Army accompany them to an exhibition supported by UK Defence and Security Exports in each year since 2019.

Alan Mak: Information prior to 2021 is not available. The following number of companies requested Soldier on Stand support at an exhibition: 2021 Requested – 3 2022 Requested - 5 2023 Requested – 16 2024 (to date) Requested – 6

UK Defence and Security Exports

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many (a) land, (b) maritime, (c) air, (d) security and (e) cyber security modules were delivered by the UK Defence and Security Exports export faculty in each year since 2019.

Alan Mak: There have been the following number of sessions delivered in each module delivered since 2019: (a) Land - 10  (b) Maritime - 10  (c) Air - 10  (d) Security - 8  (e) Cybersecurity - 9

UK Defence and Security Exports:  Larkhill Camp

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many defence firms have an exhibition space at the UK Defence and Security Exports capability showcase at Larkhill Garrison.

Alan Mak: UKDSE currently has 77 companies participating with their products on the capability showcase. This figure will fluctuate as contracts expire and/or new products are placed within the showcase.

UK Defence and Security Exports: Fees and Charges

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether a fee is charged to companies that request that a serving member of the Army accompany them to an exhibition supported by UK Defence and Security Exports.

Alan Mak: Yes, when delivering a Soldier on Stand service. Charges are based upon current military capitation rates.

UK Defence and Security Exports: Trade Fairs

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many defence firms were supported by UK Defence and Security Exports to attend the (a) Singapore Airshow and (b) Asia Pacific Maritime conference in 2024.

Alan Mak: a) Singapore Airshow 2024 0 – UKDSE did not support any defence companies to attend this event. The UK Pavilion was coordinated by ADS Group Trade Association. b) Asia Pacific Maritime 2024 0 – UKDSE did not support any defence companies to attend this civil maritime focussed event.

UK Defence and Security Exports: Trade Fairs

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many defence firms were supported by UK Defence and Security Exports to attend the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX) in March 2024.

Alan Mak: UKDSE directly supported 9 defence companies at DIMDEX 2024, either through participation on the UKDSE stand or through the Soldier on Stand service.

Unmanned Air Vehicles: Export Controls

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the model numbers were of drone engines that were authorised for export in the last 12 months; what the end (a) uses and (b) users were of each drone (i) aero-engine and (ii) other component; and what (A) Export Control Joint Unit and (B) other criteria were used to assess those applications.

Alan Mak: We do not release confidential or commercially sensitive information provided by exporters as part of their export licence application. However, we do publish data on export licensing decisions on a quarterly basis in the Official Statistics, including data on outcome, end user destination, overall value, type (e.g. military, other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria.

Small Businesses: Postage Stamps

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of the cost of stamps on small businesses.

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the impact of the relative increase in the cost of stamps on small businesses that (a) design and (b) sell greeting cards.

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the impact of the relative increase in the cost of stamps on the ability of customers to send (a) letters and (b) greeting cards.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Government does not have a role in Royal Mail's commercial decisions, including the prices of stamps and other services.  In setting its prices, Royal Mail must observe the regulatory framework set by Ofcom which imposes price controls, 'safeguard caps', on certain second-class products to ensure a basic universal service is available to all at affordable prices.Ofcom reviewed the safeguard caps in 2023, including the impact of price rises on consumers and small and medium sized enterprises, and on 24 January 2024 announced its decision on the retail price caps that would apply to Royal Mail's universal postal services from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2027.

Department for Business and Trade: Harland and Wolff

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when (a) she, (b) Ministers and (c) officials in her Department last met Harland and Wolff.

Alan Mak: Ministers at DBT met Harland and Wolff in January and September 2023.Officials remain in close contact and last met Harland and Wolff in April 2024.

Harland and Wolff: Export Credit Guarantees

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent progress has been made in negotiations between UK Export Finance and Harland and Wolff.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, for what reason her Department allowed UK Export Finance to negotiate a 100% guarantee on lending with Harland and Wolff.

Greg Hands: HM Government does not comment on ongoing commercial discussions.

UK Defence and Security Exports

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of UK Defence and Security Exports in building strong relationships with overseas governments.

Alan Mak: UK Defence and Security Exports within the Department for Business and Trade uses an analytical assessment tool to build a picture of how the UK is perceived by overseas governments. This analysis is combined with information received from overseas networks and industry groups to build a holistic understanding of how effective UK efforts are in terms of building international relationships and influencing customers. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade is updated regularly on perceptions of the UK offer.

UK Defence and Security Exports

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of UK Defence and Security Exports in raising awareness of UK industry capabilities in (a) established and (b) developing markets.

Alan Mak: UK Defence and Security Exports (UKDSE) runs a comprehensive programme of overseas trade events and missions where UK industry capabilities are promoted in established and developing markets. UKDSE also works with Embassies and High Commissions, His Majesty's Trade Commissioners (HMTCs) and the Global Defence Network to promote UK capabilities and build industrial partnerships. Events and trade missions are assessed against objectives set to ensure that continuous improvement is embedded within the UK offer. This includes feedback from UK industry, and the UK's global networks also report regularly on perceptions of the UK at overseas events. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade is updated regularly on progress.

UK Defence and Security Exports: Trade Promotion

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many Soldier on stand requests UK Defence and Security Exports (a) received and (b) fulfilled in (i) 2021, (ii) 2022, and (iii) 2023.

Alan Mak: 2021Requested – 3Fulfilled – 3 2022Requested - 5Fulfilled – 5 2023Requested – 16Fulfilled – 12 2024 (to date)Requested – 6Fulfilled - 4

UK Defence and Security Exports: Staff

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many sector advisors have been based in UK Defence and Security Exports in each year since 2019.

Alan Mak: The total sector advisors working for UK Defence and Security Exports (formerly Defence and Security Organisation) as of 1st April each year between 2020 and 2024 was as follows: 1st April 2024 191st April 2023 181st April 2022 161st April 2021 221st April 2020 12 The department no longer holds the data for 2019, as this data was held on a previous position management system.

Arms Trade: Export Controls

Ms Anum Qaisar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether export control licensing requirements for AI weapons systems include checks on the (a) accuracy and (b) reliability of those systems.

Alan Mak: HM Government takes its export control responsibilities very seriously and we operate one of the most robust and transparent export control regimes in the world. This is an important lever for promoting both UK prosperity and national and global security. We rigorously assess every application on a case-by-case basis against strict assessment criteria, the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (the SELC). The SELC provide a thorough risk assessment framework for export licence applications and require us to think hard about the impact of providing equipment and its capabilities. We will not license the export of equipment where to do so would be inconsistent with the SELC. These are not decisions we take lightly.

Foreign Investment and Overseas Trade: Birmingham

Tahir Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is making to promote (a) international trade and (b) investment opportunities for businesses based in Birmingham.

Greg Hands: The Department for Business and Trade’s export promotion campaign ‘Made in the UK, Sold to the World’ is tailored regionally, and in March 2024 Lord Offord, Minister for Exports held the ‘Made in the Midlands’ Roadshow in the regionThe International Trade Advisory Service has staff in Birmingham supporting businesses to export. The Export Academy provides online educational support and the Export Digital Enquiry Service answers specific international trade queriesThe Government has provided £160M for the creation of a West Midlands Investment Zone. The West Midlands Combined Authority estimate that this may bring up to £5.5B investment and 30,000 new jobs by 2034.

Export Credit Guarantees

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2024 to Question 13545, whether legal advice has been sought on providing a 100% guarantee on lending to a company under the Export Development Guarantee.

Greg Hands: HM Government does not comment on ongoing commercial discussions.

Unmanned Air Vehicles: Export Controls

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether there are any extant export licenses for the supply of (a) R902W engines and (b) related components for use on (i) Hermes 450, (ii) Hermes 900 and (iii) IAI Heron unmanned aerial vehicles by (A) the Israeli military and (B) other entitles controlled by the Israeli government.

Alan Mak: There are no extant licences which meet these criteria.

Artificial Intelligence: Israel

Ms Anum Qaisar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether any UK-based artificial intelligence companies have export licenses to Israel.

Alan Mak: We continue to monitor the situation in Israel and Gaza closely. The UK has not granted any export licences to UK-based AI companies to export to Israel. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. The UK operates one of the most robust and transparent export control regimes in the world.

Department for Business and Trade: Trade Fairs

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, on how many occasions ministers in her Department attended (a) domestic and (b) overseas trade shows which were supported by UK Defence and Security Exports in each year since 2019.

Alan Mak: Ministers support domestic and overseas trade shows to further the UK national interest. Further information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Department for Education

Childcare

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of parents (a) with two year olds who are eligible for 15 hours of childcare support and (b) who have had codes validated by providers and are receiving their entitlement in each local authority area.

David Johnston: This government’s plan to support hard working families is working. The department are making the largest ever investment in childcare in England’s history. By September 2025, when the new entitlements are fully rolled out, working families will on average save £6,900 per year if they use the full 30 hours free childcare from when their child is 9 months old until they start school. Our roll-out has already been successful, with the government exceeding its target for the April roll out of the first 15 hours for two year olds. The department’s estimates focus on numbers of children, rather than parents. The department estimates that there are around 285,000 two year olds eligible for 15 hours of childcare support. As per my statement on 23 April, more than 200,000 are already benefitting from the first stage of the expansion. The department will be publishing data by local authorities in due course.

Free School Meals

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of children who are (a) eligible and (b) not registered for free school meals.

Damian Hinds: The department publishes statistics annually which detail the number of pupils registered to receive free meals. The latest data shows that over 2 million pupils are registered for benefits-based free school meals (FSM), which is 23.8% of all pupils. Close to 1.3 million additional pupils benefit from universal infant free school meals. Taken together, over one third of pupils receive free school meals. The department does not collect data on the proportion of pupils that may be entitled to FSM but do not make a claim. Therefore, the department has not made a recent estimate on the number of children not registered for free school meals.

Schools: Mid Bedfordshire

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has given to (a) schools in Mid Bedfordshire and (b) Galliford Try in relation to the PFI contract between Central Bedfordshire Council and Galliford Try in each of the last 10 years.

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department provides financial support to (a) schools, (b) academy trusts and (c) local authorities for the cost of (i) overheads and (ii) maintenance required under the terms of private finance initiative contracts.

Damian Hinds: The Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools PFI contract covers two schools and was signed on 22nd December 2003.The department’s private finance initiative (PFI) Revenue Support Grant (RSG) funding for the Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools Project is paid to the Local Authority, Central Bedfordshire Council, rather than directly to schools. No payments are made by the department to Bedfordshire Schools Trust Ltd in relation to the Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools PFI contract. The department has paid PFI RSG funding of £1,886,314 for each of the last ten years from 2014/15 to 2023/24 to Central Bedfordshire Council. All payments under Mid Bedfordshire Schools PFI Project to Bedfordshire Schools Trust Ltd are made by Central Bedfordshire Council.The department supports local authorities that entered schools PFI contracts by providing Revenue Support Grant funding for the term of the PFI contract, which is normally 25 years. Central Bedfordshire Council, as the contracting party to Mid Bedfordshire Upper Schools Project PFI agreement, combines RSG grant funding from the department, plus additional funds from their own resources, to pay the PFI unitary charge to the contractor. The schools within each PFI contract ordinarily contribute towards the cost of the facilities. This applies equally to maintained schools and to academies.The department also supports schools that have unavoidable extra premises costs related to their PFI contracts through the ‘PFI factor’ in the schools national funding formula (NFF). This funding is paid out to local authorities through the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) and is then allocated to schools by local authorities through their own local formulae.The PFI factor only covers unavoidable extra premises costs, primarily related to the building itself. Costs which all schools face, such as facilities management and energy costs should be covered by the funding schools receive from the other formula factors in their local authority’s funding formula.

Schools: Suffolk Coastal

Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the transparency data entitled School rebuilding programme: schools in the programme, update on 8 February 2024, how much funding her Department has (a) allocated and (b) distributed to each school selected in Suffolk Coastal constituency in the latest period for which data is available.

Damian Hinds: There is one school selected for the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) in the Suffolk Coastal constituency. This is Farlingaye High School. The SRP is a centrally delivered programme. Therefore, no funding is allocated or distributed directly to schools. Once contracts are awarded for building works, they are published on the Contracts Finder within 30 calendar days. The Contracts Finder can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder.

Educational Visits: Theatres

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to take steps to ensure that pupils from low income families are able to participate in school visits to theatres.

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure every (a) primary and (b) secondary pupil in England can visit the theatre at least once in their school career.

Damian Hinds: All state-funded schools should teach a broad and balanced curriculum that promotes pupils' cultural development. The best schools combine creative subjects with core subjects, and the department is committed to ensuring that all pupils have access to both.Cultural education is therefore integral to a high-quality education. Alongside drama as part of the English curriculum and dance as part of the physical education curriculum, music and art and design, remain important pillars of the knowledge-rich National Curriculum.Drama is not an individual subject within the English National Curriculum, but it is an important part of a pupil’s school experience. The main introduction of drama to the primary programmes of study details the type of drama opportunities pupils should be given and acknowledges the artistic practice of drama. Teachers will use their professional judgement as to how and when such opportunities are created.On 10 February 2017, the department announced an update to the content for the GCSE in drama and the A level in drama and theatre studies to specify that all pupils will now have the entitlement to experience live theatre, reaffirming the government’s commitment to providing pupils with an enriching arts education.A parent’s income should not be a barrier to a pupil participating in a school trip. Schools may not charge for school trips that take place during school hours, or which take place outside school hours but are part of the National Curriculum, part of religious education, or part of the syllabus for a public exam that the pupil is being prepared for at the school. Parents can be asked for contributions towards the cost of a trip, but schools must make clear that contributions are voluntary. The published advice, ‘Charging for School Activities’, is clear that no pupil should be excluded from an activity simply because their parents are unwilling or unable to pay. The advice can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/706830/Charging_for_school_activities.pdf.Finally, pupil premium funding will rise to over £2.9 billion in the 2024/25 academic year. The increase will ensure that this targeted funding continues to help schools to support the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils. As set out in the menu of approaches, schools are able to use pupil premium to fund extracurricular activities, including school trips to theatres.

Criminology: Qualifications

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the planned defunding of the level 3 Criminology qualification on the criminal justice workforce pipeline (a) in general and (b) for jobs that contribute to maintaining national security.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the extent of overlap in course content between (a) level 3 Criminology and (b) A level Sociology.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the planned defunding of level 3 Criminology in England on the comparative ability of students from (a) England and (b) Wales to pursue careers in criminal justice.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the capacity on A level Sociology courses in the context of the planned defunding of level 3 Criminology.

Luke Hall: This government is committed to ensuring that students in post-16 education have access to a high quality suite of qualifications that are easy to choose from and which provide the best chances for progression into higher study, or into a skilled job. The department firmly believes that, until the Advanced British Standard (ABS) is introduced, A Levels and T Levels are the best route at Level 3 to achieving those outcomes. A Levels are world class qualifications that provide the best preparation for higher education in most academic subject areas, including the social sciences. The government’s view is that A Levels should be the academic qualifications of choice at Level 3. This is based on evidence about progression and attainment for students who study A Levels compared to those who study other academic qualifications at Level 3. Students who study A Levels tend to both do better and have higher completion rates at university than students who studied other qualifications, even when taking into account background characteristics. An impact assessment was undertaken to consider the post-16 reforms at Level 3 as a whole, which can be read here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1091841/Revised_Review_of_post-16_qualifications_at_level_3_in_England_impact_assessment.pdf. The study of criminology at Level 3 is not generally an entry requirement for criminology and other related degree courses. A Level sociology, which is in the same sector subject area of sociology and social policy, will serve students wishing to progress to criminology degrees. Students wishing to progress into other careers in criminal justice and national security, such as legal, policing or prison and probation services, could also undertake other A Levels such as law, combined with small alternative academic qualifications in approved subjects such as uniformed protective services. Development of the ABS is a decade long reform programme. Therefore, removal of funding from technical qualifications overlapping with T Levels is continuing as planned. The technical parts of the ABS are much closer to the T Level than any other qualification, meaning that T Levels will be the most future proof qualification for students at 16 to 19. As the department reforms applied general qualifications, it will be up to colleges to decide what they offer to ensure that students have access to a wide range of publicly funded qualifications. As education is a devolved matter, the devolved administrations may take a different approach to post-16 education.

Department for Education and Student Loans Company: ICT

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the policy paper entitled Transforming for a digital future: 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data, updated on 29 February 2024, when her Department first assessed each of the red-rated legacy IT systems in her Department and in the Student Loans Company to be red-rated.

Damian Hinds: The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO), in the Cabinet Office, has established a programme to support departments managing legacy IT. CDDO has agreed a framework to identify ‘red-rated’ systems, indicating high levels of risk surrounding certain assets within the IT estate. Departments have committed to have remediation plans in place for these systems by next year (2025).It is not appropriate to release sensitive information held about specific red-rated systems or more detailed plans for remediation within the department’s IT estate, as this information could indicate which systems are at risk, and may highlight potential security vulnerabilities.

Department for Education: Staff

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many full-time equivalent staff in her Department are working on the science and technology skills dashboard.

Damian Hinds: The science and technology jobs and skills dashboard has been developed by the department’s Unit for Future Skills alongside science and technology policy experts in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. It is expected to be published in due course. Once the dashboard is published, the expectation is for it to take less than one full time-equivalent staff member to maintain and develop further.

Academies: Finance

Sally-Ann Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that academy trusts publish details of (a) how their schools' annual grants are pooled and (b) (i) how and (ii) for what purposes funding is allocated to each school.

Damian Hinds: A trust with multiple academies can pool the general annual grant (GAG) to form one central fund. The ability to pool funding gives trusts the ability to direct funds to meet improvement priorities and running costs across its schools and deliver a successful financial operating model for their trust. The Academy Trust Handbook (ATH) requires that if a trust decides to pool their GAG, then it must consider the funding needs and allocations of each constituent academy. The department requires a high level of accountability and transparency of academy trusts. Academy trusts’ status as companies, charities and public sector bodies, means they have a rigorous tri-partite framework and are held up to greater scrutiny. Trusts must account properly for their money and publish annual accounts, which must set out how much funding was held by each of their academies. In addition, a breakdown of each academy’s income and expenditure is available on the schools financial benchmarking website.

Vocational Guidance

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps she has taken to ensure careers advisors have knowledge of level 4 and 5 qualifications.

Luke Hall: The National Careers Service (NCS) provides free, up to date, impartial information, advice and guidance on careers, skills and the Labour Market in England. It helps customers make informed choices about their career and learning options, whatever their age, ethnic group and background. Over 760 careers advisers support customers to be:Informed and aware of the wide range of learning, training/retraining and work opportunities that are available to them.Better able to independently manage their careers; identify opportunities and respond to challenges in the employment and training market.Aware and able to access accurate and up to date information about careers and learning from the NCS whenever they need it. The department has commissioned the Career Development Institute (CDI) to develop a bespoke Continuing Professional Development programme for careers advisers. In addition, the department regularly disseminates key information and updates via bulletins and newsletters to careers advisers in the community to ensure they have up to date information, including changes to the NCS website. The Careers and Enterprise Company has developed case studies which showcase the affordable and successful delivery of the personal guidance. Through investing in Careers Leaders, the department is supporting schools to become better commissioners of careers professionals. The CDI is doing excellent work to put in place programmes to train and upskill careers professionals, including a new focus on digital skills. The Gatsby Charitable Foundation has agreed funding for a new three-year programme to be delivered by the CDI to raise the profile of technical education among careers advisers working in schools and colleges across England. Careers advisers play a key role in helping young people define their career goals, understand their own strengths and development needs and decide on the right pathway to gain the skills needed to reach their goals. This new programme will raise careers advisers’ awareness and understanding of technical education pathways so they can confidently discuss them as options for the young people they work with.

Employment: Further Education

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps she has taken to help increase engagement between employers and further education colleges.

Luke Hall: The department wants providers to continue to offer high-quality, relevant provision and to build upon the already fantastic work they do in partnership with local employers. The coming decade will see substantial economic change and as the economy changes, so will the skills needs of learners and employers. The department recognises that this will play out in different ways across the country and that is why the department introduced Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) to support local innovation and growth so that every part of the country can succeed in its own unique way. The department is delighted that across all areas of England, employer-led LSIPs have already helped engage thousands of local businesses and have brought them together with local providers and stakeholders to collaboratively agree and deliver actions to address local skills needs. By building locally owned LSIPs from the ground up, the department is reshaping the skills system to better support people to train for, and succeed in, their local labour market. The department welcomes the excellent engagement currently taking place between the designated employer representative bodies (ERBs) leading the LSIPs and local providers of technical education and training. It has meant that in summer 2023, all 38 areas of England published a plan, which was approved by the Secretary of State for Education, setting out local skills priorities and actions across the next three years. Moving forward, the ERBs leading the implementation and review of the LSIPs are continuing to work closely with local providers and stakeholders to deliver the priority actions set out in the LSIPs. Indeed, each ERB will provide a public annual progress report in June 2024 and 2025 setting out progress made since publication of the LSIPs. LSIPs are working alongside the department’s wider reforms to further education (FE) funding and accountability, enabling a step change in how FE provision meets local skills needs. To help ensure the success of the programme, and as part of this government’s commitment to continue to invest significantly into FE, the department provided a dedicated £165 million Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF) to support providers to work collaboratively to respond to the needs identified in the LSIPs. Provider projects the department is funding through the LSIF include training to plug key skills gaps in digital, net zero and green, construction, artificial intelligence and health and social care, all of which were identified as priorities by employers through the LSIPs. Together, LSIPS and the LSIF are galvanising and bringing employers and providers closer together to spread opportunity for young people, skills for businesses and growth for all areas of this country.

Office for Students: Finance

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much additional Strategic Priorities Grant recurrent funding was allocated to the Office for Students between financial years (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2024-25.

Luke Hall: The Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) is funding supplied by the government on an annual basis to support teaching and students in higher education (HE), which includes funding for subjects that are expensive to deliver, such as science and engineering, students at risk of discontinuing their studies, and world-leading specialist providers. The department is investing hundreds of millions of pounds in additional funding over the three-year period from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to support high quality teaching and facilities, including in science and engineering, subjects that support the NHS, and degree apprenticeships. This includes the largest increase in government funding for the HE sector to support students and teaching in over a decade. In the 2022/23 financial year, the total recurrent SPG funding was £1,397 million. This was increased to £1,454 million for the 2023/24 financial year. The department has recently provided a budget of £1,456 million in recurrent SPG for the 2024/25 financial year.

Universities: Freedom of Expression

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that universities uphold the right to freedom of expression for students campaigning on matters relating to the (a) war in Gaza and (b) rights of Palestinians.

David Johnston: The right to freedom of speech, freedom of expression and academic freedom in higher education (HE) is one this government takes very seriously, and one that it has legislated to further protect. Universities should be places where academics, students and visiting speakers can express a diverse range of views without fear of repercussion. The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act received Royal Assent on 11 May 2023 and is now an Act of Parliament. The main provisions in the Act will come into force on 1 August 2024. The Act will strengthen HE providers’ duties to secure freedom of speech and will create a new duty to promote the importance of freedom of speech. The Act will also extend the duties to secure freedom of speech to students’ unions and will establish new routes of redress if the duties are breached. It is important to note that the Act only covers speech that is within the law. The right to freedom of speech is not an absolute right and it does not include the right to harass others or incite them to violence or terrorism. Encouraging terrorism and inviting support for a proscribed terrorist organisation are criminal offences, and HE providers should not provide a platform for these offences to be committed. In addition, providers should be very clear that any antisemitic abuse or harassment will not be tolerated.

Special Educational Needs

Gen Kitchen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she takes to ensure that local authorities (a) adequately capture the needs of SEND children and (b) provide a local offer that adequately meets levels of demand for those needs.

David Johnston: The Children and Families Act 2014 requires all local authorities to publish a local offer of services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in their area. This helps families to be aware of services available in their area and provides a way for them to contribute to shaping provision to meet local needs. As set out in the SEND Code of Practice, local authorities must consult children and young people with SEND and their parents and carers, in reviewing educational and training provision, social care provision and in preparing and reviewing the Local Offer. In the SEND and alternative provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published in March 2023, the department has set out plans to build a consistent national SEND and AP system in which parents and carers can trust and have confidence, and which can be navigated easily. Through the Change Programme, the department is testing Local Area Inclusion Plans (LAIPs). These are 3 year plans that explain how the needs of children and young people with SEND aged 0 to 25 in an area will be met. LAIPs will be monitored and reviewed by the department and be underpinned by strengthened accountabilities and improved use of data for all those responsible for local delivery of places. Ofsted and Care Quality Commission also commenced a strengthened local inspection framework in January 2023. Where local authorities are failing, the department works with them using a range of improvement programmes and SEND specialist advisers to address weaknesses.  Inspections under the new framework place greater emphasis on the outcomes that are being achieved for children and young people with SEND.

Childcare: Subsidies

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of Government subsidies for childcare on the cost of childcare for people who are not eligible for subsidies.

David Johnston: For families with younger children, childcare costs are often a significant part of their household expenditure, which is why improving the cost, choice and availability of childcare for working parents is important to the government. From April 2024, working parents of 2 year olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks of the year. This transformative roll out will benefit the parents of up to 246,000 children who have been issued 2 year old funding codes, of which 195,000 have been validated to date. From September 2024, this will be extended to working parents of children from nine months to 2 year olds. From September 2025, all working parents of children aged nine months up to 3 years will be able to access 30 hours of free childcare per week. The expansion of this entitlement will save eligible parents up to £6,900 per year per child helping even more working parents with the cost of childcare and making a real difference to the lives of those families. The income eligibility criteria are applied on a per parent basis. To be eligible, parents will need to earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at National Minimum or Living Wage, which is £183 per week or £9,518 per year in 2024-2025, and less than £100,000 adjusted net income. For families with two parents, both must be working to meet the criteria, unless one is receiving certain benefits. In a single-parent household, the single parent must meet the threshold. The £100,000 level was chosen to correspond with income tax thresholds and to be easily understandable for parents. Only a very small proportion of parents, 3.1% in 2023, earn over the £100,000 adjusted net income maximum threshold. The eligibility criteria apply to the existing entitlements and were debated in, and agreed by, Parliament. The maximum income limit applies to both Tax-Free Childcare and 30 hours free childcare, which allows parents to apply for both schemes through the same online application (Childcare Service). However, the universal 15 hours of free childcare offer remains in place for all parents of 3 and 4 year olds, regardless of parental circumstances, including those who earn over £100,000. Working families can also access support with the childcare costs through Tax Free Childcare worth up to £2,000 per year for children aged up to 11, or £4,000 per year for children aged up to 17 with disabilities. For every £8 paid into a Tax-Free Childcare account, the government tops it up with another £2. There is a comprehensive evaluation programme underpinning the expansion of childcare entitlements. This includes a process evaluation which will explore how families not eligible for the new entitlements experience finding and accessing childcare, including the associated costs. Further, the impact evaluation will assess how the expansion has impacted upon the quality of childcare provision and children’s development, for all children, and wider family outcomes. As per Government Social Research guidelines, evaluation findings will be available within 12 weeks of the projects being finalised. The department expects the first to be available from spring 2026.

Students: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the shortage of ADHD medication on students during the upcoming exam season; and whether her Department has had discussions with (a) examination boards and (b) schools on mitigation measures.

Damian Hinds: The department is aware of the current difficulties some students are facing in obtaining medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The department has not held discussions with examination boards specific to this.There are established arrangements in place that schools and colleges will be familiar with, which should be used to arrange any reasonable adjustments or access arrangements for students with disabilities.The Equality Act 2010 requires examination boards to make reasonable adjustments where a disabled person would be at a substantial disadvantage in undertaking an assessment. Reasonable adjustments are changes made to exams or assessments, or to the way they are conducted, to mitigate the risk that a disabled person would be at a substantial disadvantage in undertaking an assessment. They are needed because some disabilities can make it harder for students to show what they know, understand and can do in an assessment, than it would be had the student not been disabled. The exam or assessment must still test the same knowledge, skills and understanding for that qualification.If a student’s need has changed or they need a reasonable adjustment that has not been applied for, the school or college should contact the relevant awarding organisation as soon as possible.

Teachers: Recruitment

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of funding for subject knowledge enhancement programmes for (a) primary maths, (b) design and technology, (c) English, (d) biology and (e) religious education on the future recruitment of student teachers in those subjects.

Damian Hinds: The department reviews all policies, including subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses, on a regular basis to adapt its approach to attracting new teachers where needed and to ensure that interventions are focused where they will have the most positive impact for children and young people.When reviewing the SKE package for the remainder of the 2023/24 academic year, factors including teacher supply needs, the volume of SKE participants associated with each subject and the relative recruitment to Initial Teacher Training (ITT) were all taken into account to ensure that the department is targeting funding where it is needed most.The department remains committed to recruiting the teachers it needs. The ITT financial incentives package for the 2024/25 recruitment cycle is worth up to £196 million, which is a £15 million increase on the last cycle. Tax free ITT bursaries continue to be available in design and technology, English, biology and religious education for ITT 2024. The department will continue to review the SKE programme on a regular basis to ensure that its funding is targeted as effectively as possible.

Home Office

Domestic Abuse: Birmingham

Tahir Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help support survivors of domestic abuse in Birmingham.

Laura Farris: The government has taken a number of measures to support victims of domestic abuse across England and Wales. As a result of the of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and our Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan (2022) the government will invest up to £140 million in supporting victims.Funding which may support victims in Birmingham from this plan includes, but is not limited to:Independent sexual violence advisors.Services in receipt of funding from the £8.3 million VAWG Support and Specialist Services Fund.Funding for helplines, such as the National LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Helpline, delivered by Galop.The Support for Migrant Victims Scheme which provides accommodation and wrap around support for migrant victims of domestic abuse with insecure immigration status.From 31st January 2024, domestic abuse services, including those located in Birmingham, can refer victims to the flexible fund. This will mean victims can benefit from direct payments to flee abuse or build a sustainable future due to an additional £2 million investment.The Duty on Tier 1 local authorities in England, to provide support for victims of domestic abuse and their children within safe accommodation, including refuges. The Government has committed £587 million in support of safe accommodation services since 2014.Ringfenced funding the Ministry of Justice provided to PCCs. In 2023/2024 MoJ provided £38 million for Independent Sexual Violence Advisors and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors and £21 million for community-based domestic abuse and sexual violence services.

Police: Training

Dean Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress he has made on developing Domestic Abuse Matters training for officers investigating domestic abuse offences.

Laura Farris: The Domestic Abuse Matters training programme has now been delivered to over 80% of police forces to date, including Hertfordshire Police. The College of Policing guidance for the Domestic Abuse Matters training specifies 75% of all first responders to domestic abuse must be trained to effect mass behavioural change. The Home Office has also funded the College of Policing to develop a new module of Domestic Abuse Matters training, targeted specifically at officers investigating domestic abuse offences to enable further improvement in police responses to domestic abuse incidents. The Home Office will continue to work with the College of Policing to ensure the training reflects our most up to date understanding of domestic abuse.

Home Office: Ipsos

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contract agreed by his Department with IPSOS-MORI Ltd. on 18 April 2024, reference 412008/1329297, if he will publish the order specification set out in Schedule 20 of that agreement.

Chris Philp: We can confirm that the statement of requirements document has been added to the contract finder notice and can be viewed here: ASB Hot Spot Survey - Contracts Finder

Policing Productivity Review: Shoplifting

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Policing Productivity review on levels of theft from shops.

Chris Philp: The Government recognises the impact shoplifting has on businesses and communities. The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows neighbourhood crime is down 48% compared to findings from 2010; however, Police Recorded Crime figures show shoplifting offences increased by 32% in the 12 months to September 2023. Statistics also show the number of people charged with shoplifting has risen by 34%, showing the police are acting. We have recently taken significant steps to improve the police response to retail crime, including shoplifting. In October 2023, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the Retail Crime Action Plan. All forces across England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to aid efforts to identify offenders. This builds on the NPCC commitment that police will follow up on all reasonable lines of enquiry. The Government published an enhanced Action Plan, "Fighting Retail Crime: More action" on 10 April. This Plan highlights key areas of work to tackle retail crime, including introduction of a new standalone office for assaults on retail workers; additional electronic monitoring for prolific shoplifters; and increasing use of facial recognition technology. The Policing Productivity Review was published on 20 November 2023, which concludes there is the potential to free up around 38 million hours of police time per year within five years. This equates to over 20,000 police officers. The Government is working with policing to consider its recommendations, freeing up police officers’ time which can be reprioritised to enable officers to spend more time fighting crime on the front line, in line with local priorities set by Police and Crime Commissioners. This additional police time could be used to support delivery of the Retail Crime Action Plan. Evaluation on the impact of the Policing Productivity Review will be part of the remit of the new Centre for Police Productivity which was announced at the Spring Budget 2024. We are continuing to work closely with the retail sector, security representatives, trade associations and policing through the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG), which meets on a quarterly basis, to ensure the response to retail crime, including shoplifting, is as robust as it can be.

Asylum: Hotels

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will take steps to increase opportunities for children and young people to (a) express their views and experiences of and (b) make decisions affecting their living conditions in contingency accommodation.

Tom Pursglove: Asylum seekers have access to health and social care services from the point of arrival in the UK. The Home Office and its contractors work closely with the NHS, local authorities and non-governmental organisations to ensure that people can access the healthcare and support they need.The Home Office also operates a Safeguarding Hub to support vulnerable individuals in accessing these services. In addition, the Home Office contracts Migrant Help to provide advice and guidance to asylum seekers should they have an issue with their accommodation or support, and for signposting to health and welfare services. Asylum seekers can access Migrant Help 24/7, every day of the year; by a freephone telephone number, via an online chat, or completing an email enquiry form, both of which can be accessed free of charge on the Migrant Help website. Interpreting and translation services are available through Migrant Help when the need arises for asylum seekers to raise any queries or concerns.Whilst any safeguarding, medical, or other personal circumstances are considered, all asylum accommodation is provided on a ‘no choice basis’.

Youth Mobility Scheme: EU Countries

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 22 November 2023 to Question HL130 on Youth Mobility Scheme: EU countries, whether he has had discussions with EU Member state counterparts on establishing bilateral youth mobility schemes.

Tom Pursglove: The UK remain open to negotiating new bilateral Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) arrangements with other countries and territories, including all EU Member States. However, as each YMS is subject to a bilateral, reciprocal arrangement which also provides benefit to UK nationals, with the details agreed between the relevant parties, we are unable to disclose the status of negotiations as they occur.We remain committed to expanding our YMS to more nations, including but not limited to those within the EU. Further details of additional YMS agreements will be announced once they are concluded.

Visas: Graduates

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the letter from the Chair of the Migration Advisory Committee of 12 March 2024 on the timescales for its review of the graduate route.

Tom Pursglove: It is important that we have clarity on the use of the Graduate route in a timely manner, which is why we asked the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to carry out a rapid review. We will consider the evidence put forward by the MAC very closely.

Visas: Graduates

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the removal of the ability of taught masters students to bring dependents on trends in the number of overseas female applicants for graduate visas.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office considers its Public Sector Equality Duty in the development of all policy. An Impact Assessment (IA) was also produced for the student dependant reforms.In addition, the Migration Advisory Committee are currently undertaking a review of the Graduate route. We will consider any evidence put forward by the MAC very closely.

Asylum: Rwanda

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum decision makers have completed training to assess applications from individuals deported to Rwanda under the UK-Rwanda Treaty.

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to remarks made by the Prime Minister on 22 April 2024 on the UK-Rwanda treaty, what assessment he has made of how many asylum claims made by individuals relocated to Rwanda can be decided per week under the current capacity of decision makers.

Michael Tomlinson: The necessary decision makers in Rwanda will be trained and ready to make decisions on applications in preparation for the first individuals being relocated.

Asylum: Hotels

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason an electronic database has not been created to keep track of the children in hotels used for asylum seekers.

Michael Tomlinson: There are no unaccompanied children in hotels.

Asylum: Rwanda

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the press statement by the Prime Minister of 22 April 2024, with which airline commercial charter planes for specific slots to remove people to Rwanda have been booked.

Michael Tomlinson: The Department engages with commercial partners where required to deliver on its responsibilities. The details of any such discussions are both operationally and commercially sensitive.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Ukrainian government has requested that boats used for illegal channel crossings be offered to that country.

Michael Tomlinson: The Home Office is not aware of any formal request from the Ukrainian government for these lethally dangerous and unseaworthy craft, though it has repeatedly made clear the unsuitability of these boats to those who have advocated that they be sent to Ukraine.

Department of Health and Social Care

Gender Dysphoria: Health Services

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of whether the NHS workforce plan should be updated by NHS England to reflect the staffing needs of theeight new children and young people's gender services regional centres.

Maria Caulfield: No specific formal assessment has been made. Gender medicine is a highly specialised field of medicine, and NHS England are actively working to recruit more staff for the new regional children and young people gender identity services. NHS England has also been working closely with other professional bodies to develop tailored training for these professionals. NHS England will commission the required professional training curriculum and competencies framework, not just for staff working in the new gender services, but also for clinicians working in secondary, primary, and community care. It is expected that this will also help to increase the support for children and young people, ensuring they receive a more holistic model of care.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Health Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with her counterparts in the devolved administrations on ensuring (a) a consistent approach and (b) the applicability of the NHS National Review to ADHD services.

Maria Caulfield: My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has regular discussions on a wide range of matters, with a wide range of people. NHS England is establishing a new attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) taskforce alongside the Government, to improve care for people living with the condition. The new taskforce will bring together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the National Health Service, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD, and help provide a joined-up approach in response to concerns around rising demand for assessments and support. NHS England will continue to engage widely throughout the process, and will engage with the devolved administrations as appropriate.

Mental Health Services: Children

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many child mental health patients have been held in inappropriate out of area placements since March 2021.

Maria Caulfield: While NHS England does collect internal management data on this topic, the statistics are not considered robust enough to be published.

Mental Health Services: Standards

Dean Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress NHS England has made on developing a neuropsychiatric service specification.

Maria Caulfield: NHS England remains committed to the continued development and improvement of all services, including neuropsychiatry. Neuropsychiatry covers a broad spectrum of mental health support, for people with a broad spectrum of neurological conditions, and as such, provision of neuropsychiatry falls within the care pathway of a range of services.The provision of neuropsychiatry is included in, and will be strengthened within, the updated neurology service specification, neurosurgery specification, and complex rehabilitation service specification. The requirement and scope of a standalone neuropsychiatry service specification is being discussed with the Royal College of Psychiatry and mental health colleagues.The Neurology Clinical Reference Group (CRG) will continue to lead this work and take forward discussions with the Royal College of Psychiatry, which is represented on both the Neurology CRG and Complex Rehabilitation and Disability CRG, and is contributing to the development of the service specifications listed above.

Infant Mortality: Certification

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2024 to Question 19419 on Infant Mortality: Certification, what her planned timetable is for extending the scheme to pregnancy losses before 1 September 2018.

Maria Caulfield: On 22 February 2024, we launched the Baby Loss Certificate service, fulfilling our commitment in the Women’s Health Strategy. We recognise that some people will wish to obtain a certificate for a baby loss that happened in the past. It is currently open to pregnancy losses since 1 September 2018, and we will extend this to earlier losses as soon as we can.

Health Services: Rehabilitation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will amend the NHS Constitution to ensure that rehabilitation is seen as the third pillar of healthcare.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government will shortly be consulting on specific changes to the NHS Constitution, in addition to seeking views on the NHS Constitution as a whole. Feedback submitted will be considered during the post-consultation review. The Government will endeavour to issue a response 12 weeks after the consultation has closed.

Mental Health Services: Men

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) stigma and (b) gender norms on trends in the number of men accessing mental health services.

Maria Caulfield: NHS England’s Advancing Mental Health Equalities Strategy launched in September 2020, to assess inequalities in access, including those based on gender, and to set out guidance on how services should be taking this into account.Fundamentally, this strategy aims to ensure that access to the timely, high-quality mental healthcare as described in the NHS Long Term Plan is equitable, by equipping systems with the tools and enablers they need to bridge the gaps between people, such as men, faring worse than others in mental health services.Middle-aged men are identified in Suicide prevention in England: 5-year cross-sector strategy, as a priority group for action. The strategy acknowledges that stigma can be a barrier to people seeking support, and it encourages local government, the National Health Service, and voluntary sector organisations to work together to encourage the reduction of this stigma.

Carers: Rural Areas

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to support unpaid carers in rural areas.

Helen Whately: The Care Act (2014) requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for unpaid carers. Local authorities are required to undertake a Carer’s Assessment for any unpaid carer who appears to have a need for support, and to meet their eligible needs on request from the carer.Through the Accelerating Reform Fund (ARF), we are investing £42.6 million for innovative local projects focused on transforming the care sector. The purpose of the ARF is to support two or more projects in each area, with at least one of those having a particular focus on unpaid carers. More than half of the projects, and at least one in each integrated care system area, are focused on identifying, recognising, and supporting unpaid carers.

Continuing Care: Finance

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure that people eligible for NHS continuing healthcare funding have access to services.

Helen Whately: The National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care sets out in paragraph 185 that, where an individual is eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC), the integrated care board (ICB) is responsible for care planning, commissioning services, and case management. The ICB is responsible for planning strategically, specifying outcomes, procuring services, and managing demand and provider performance in relation to CHC. The services commissioned must include ongoing case management, including review or reassessment of the individual’s needs.NHS England holds ICBs accountable, and engages with them to ensure that they discharge their functions via timely and well-established assurance mechanisms. The national framework also sets out that those in receipt of CHC continue to be entitled to access to the full range of primary, community, secondary, and other health services.

Alcoholism and Drugs: Health Services

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS Inpatient Detox units there are by location.

Andrea Leadsom: There are eight NHS inpatient detoxification units in England. They are listed below: Guys and St Thomas NHS Trust (London),Bridge House, Kent and Medway NHS Trust (Maidstone, Kent),Dame Carol Black Unit, Midlands Foundation NHS Trust (Fareham, Hampshire),Acer Unit, Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (Bristol),Edward Myers Unit, Staffordshire Combined NHS Trust (Stoke),New Beginnings, Rotherham, Doncaster, South Humber Foundation NHS Trust (Doncaster), Chapman Barker Unit, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Trust (Manchester),Topaz Ward, Essex Partnership NHS Trust (Chelmsford, Essex).

Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Prescriptions

Keir Mather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of adding medications related to (a) asthma and (b) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the NHS prescription charge exemption list.

Andrea Leadsom: While the Government’s policy remains, that there are no plans to review the list of medical conditions that entitle someone to apply for a medical exemption certificate, there are extensive arrangements currently in place in England to ensure that prescriptions are affordable for everyone, including for those with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Approximately 89% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge in the community in England, and there is a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place for which those with heart disease may be eligible. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.People on a low income can apply for help with their health costs through the NHS Low Income Scheme. The scheme provides income related help to people who are not automatically exempt from charges, but who may be entitled to full or partial help if they have a low income and savings below a defined limit.To support those with greatest need who do not qualify for an exemption or the NHS Low Income Scheme, Prescription Prepayment Certificates (PPCs) are available. PPCs allow people to claim as many prescriptions as they need for a set cost, with three month and 12 month certificates available, which can be paid for in instalments.

Breastfeeding

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of increased rates of breastfeeding on cost savings for the NHS.

Andrea Leadsom: The public health benefits of breastfeeding for child and maternal health are significant and well established. Research published in the British Medical Journal suggests that increasing breastfeeding rates, both in terms of duration and exclusivity, is likely to generate substantial cost savings to the National Health Service, although the actual amounts saved will depend on the extent of this increase.Through the Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme, we are investing £50 million to increase the range of specialist support, which is enabling more parents to access face-to-face and virtual support whenever they need it. One of the objectives of the programme is to improve the evidence base around the impact of breastfeeding interventions, and the specific combination of interventions that are effective in different circumstances. This is expected to strengthen the case for further, more widespread investment in the future.

Health: Men

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has she made of the potential merits of a men's health strategy for the economy.

Andrea Leadsom: Whilst no specific assessment has been made, we are already taking action to address the health issues that disproportionately impact men. This includes through policies announced on International Men’s Day, such as the appointment of a Men’s Health Ambassador, to raise the profile of men’s health issues. The Major Conditions Strategy will also focus on improving health outcomes linked to major condition areas like cancer, cardiovascular, and chronic respiratory diseases that disproportionately impact men.

Hormone Pregnancy Tests Expert Working Group

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make it her policy to commission an independent review of the Commission on Human Medicines’ Expert Working Group’s report on Hormone Pregnancy Tests.

Maria Caulfield: We remain hugely sympathetic to the families who believe that they have suffered as a result of using Hormone Pregnancy Tests. We have no plans to set up an independent review to examine the findings of the Expert Working Group. In the interests of transparency, all evidence collected and papers considered by the Expert Working Group were published in 2018, along with full minutes of its discussions. Details of conflicts of interests, and how these were managed, were also published.

Palliative Care

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help support (a) hospice and (b) other end-of-life services.

Helen Whately: As part of the Health and Care Act 2022, the Government added palliative care services to the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission, promoting a more consistent national approach, and supporting commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care.The majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services. However, we also recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, play in providing support to people at end of life, and their families. Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding hospices receive is dependent on many factors, including what other statutory services are available within the ICB footprint. Charitable hospices provide a range of services which go beyond that which statutory services are legally required to provide, and consequently, the funding arrangements reflect this.To support ICBs, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications for both adults and children. NHS England has also commissioned the development of a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together relevant, all age local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of both adults and children in their local population, enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities.NHS England has also funded seven strategic clinical networks for palliative and end of life care. These networks support commissioners in the delivery of outstanding clinical and personalised care for people in the last years of life, and reduce local variation.At a national level, NHS England has confirmed it will renew the Children and Young People’s hospice funding for 2024/25, again allocating £25 million of grant funding for children’s hospices, using the same prevalence-based allocation approach as in 2022/23 and 2023/24. The Government has provided £60 million of additional funding to help deliver the one-off payments to over 27,000 eligible staff employed on dynamically linked Agenda for Change contracts by non-NHS organisations, including some hospices.

Palliative Care: Integrated Care Boards

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding support her Department is providing to Integrated Care Boards on the operation of (a) hospices, (b) palliative care and (c) end-of-life services.

Helen Whately: The majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by core National Health Service staff and services. However, we also recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, play in providing support to people at end of life, and their families. Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services.The amount of funding hospices receive is dependent on many factors, including what other statutory services are available within the integrated care board (ICB) footprint. Charitable hospices provide a range of services which go beyond that which statutory services are legally required to provide, and consequently, the funding arrangements reflect this.However, since 2020, NHS England has provided hospices with over £350 million to secure and increase NHS capacity, and to support hospital discharge, as part of the COVID-19 response. In addition, since 2021/22, nearly £63 million has been provided to children’s hospices as part of the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant. Furthermore, additional investment in children and young people’s palliative and end of life care, including hospices, has also been made through the NHS Long Term Plan’s commitment to match-fund clinical commissioning groups, and subsequently ICBs, totalling over £23 million.As set out in the Health and Care Act 2022, ICBs are responsible for determining the level of NHS-funded palliative and end of life care locally, including hospice care, and are responsible for ensuring that the services they commission meet the needs of their local population.

Intensive Care: Rehabilitation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that intensive therapy unit patients have access to rehabilitative therapies on their discharge from hospital.

Helen Whately: Rehabilitation, and therapy-led reablement, are critical in ensuring that patients discharged on intermediate care pathways from acute settings receive appropriate support to recover.As set out in the hospital discharge and community support guidance, local authorities and integrated care boards should ensure that, where appropriate, they commission rehabilitation, including therapy-led reablement, for those who need it.Every acute hospital now has access to a care transfer hub. These hubs bring together professionals from the National Health Service and social care to ensure that patients with more complex needs have in place the most appropriate support package for their safe discharge.

Health Services: Rehabilitation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will develop a (a) rehabilitation strategy and (b) single accountable lead in every NHS Trust and Integrated Care Board area.

Helen Whately: National Health Service bodies and local authorities should ensure local recovery, rehabilitation, and reablement services are commissioned effectively and sustainably, and meet the needs of their local population. This may be provided as part of intermediate care services, and should be done in collaboration with relevant organisations, including the voluntary and community sector, and care providers.NHS England has published the Intermediate care framework for rehabilitation, reablement and recovery following hospital discharge, which recommends systems identify an Allied Health Professional lead to progress implementation of the new model, both within the hospital and in the community.Integrated care boards have flexibility over the arrangements of their own governance, including board membership, and are able to go beyond the statutory minimums to appoint more local authority, NHS provider, or primary care representatives to board membership, in order to tackle local priority issues.

Pregnancy: Smoking

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to encourage pregnant women to undertake smoking cessation programmes.

Andrea Leadsom: Smoking is the number one entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability, and death in this country. It is responsible for 80,000 yearly deaths in the United Kingdom, and one in four of all UK cancer deaths. Smoking in pregnancy increases the risk of stillbirth, miscarriage, and sudden infant death.As set out in Stopping the Start: our new plan to create a smokefree generation, we are establishing a financially incentivised scheme to help pregnant smokers and their partners to quit smoking, with smoking cessation support. This evidence-based intervention will encourage pregnant women to give up smoking, and remain smokefree throughout pregnancy and beyond, helping to improve the health and wellbeing of both mother and baby.The objective is to have all maternity trusts that wish to participate in the scheme signed up by the end of 2024, so that all pregnant women who smoke in participating areas will be offered the opportunity to join the incentive scheme by December 2024.This financial incentive scheme builds upon the NHS Long Term Plan’s ambition to ensure that all pregnant smokers can access behavioural support to quit from within maternity services, as well as additional funding for mass marketing campaigns on stopping smoking.

General Practitioners: Labour Turnover

Mrs Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress she has made on retaining more GPs.

Andrea Leadsom: There were 2,799 more full time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in general practice (GP) in December 2023, compared to December 2019.  The Government is working with NHS England to increase the GP workforce in England. This includes measures to boost recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave the profession, and encourage them to return to practice. NHS England has made available a number of retention schemes, to boost the GP workforce.

Dental Services: Maidstone and the Weald

Mrs Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress her Department has made on increasing access to dentists in Maidstone and the Weald constituency.

Andrea Leadsom: In the 24 months to June 2023, 496,306 adults were seen by a National Health Service dentist in Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB). This figure is 12% higher than the year before, where 444,190 adults were seen by an NHS dentist, in the 24 months to June 2022.On 7 February 2024, we published Faster, simpler, and fairer: our plan to recover and reform NHS dentistry, which is backed by £200 million and will fund approximately 2.5 million additional appointments. The plan sets out our actions to improve dental access for patients across the country to address the challenges facing NHS dentistry, including in Maidstone and the Weald.A new patient premium is supporting dentists in taking on new patients, and a new marketing campaign will help everyone who needs an NHS dentist in finding one. We have further supported dentists by raising the minimum Units of Dental Activity rate to £28 this year, making NHS work more attractive and sustainable.From 1 April 2023, the responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to all ICBs across England. Kent and Medway ICB is responsible for having local processes in place to identify areas of need, and determine the priorities for investment across the ICB area.

Pregnancy: Electronic Cigarettes

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of vaping on the health of pregnant women; and whether she plans to take steps to encourage pregnant women to stop vaping.

Andrea Leadsom: Our health advice on vaping is clear, if you smoke, it is better to vape, but if you don’t smoke, you should never vape. Evidence to date suggests vaping is less harmful than smoking. Research funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research finds that pregnant women who vaped, when compared to women who used Nicotine Replacement Therapy, were twice as likely to quit, and that both approaches were safer than smoking. Further information is available at the following link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01808-0 To help pregnant smokers quit smoking, the Government is providing up to £10 million of investment over 2023/24 and 2024/25 via a financial incentives scheme. This evidence-based intervention, supported by behavioural support, will encourage pregnant women to quit smoking, and remain smokefree throughout pregnancy and beyond, helping to improve the health and wellbeing of both mother and baby.

Dentistry: Mental Health Services

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to provide mental health support for the dental workforce.

Andrea Leadsom: The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan commits the National Health Service to supporting staff health and wellbeing, and asks integrated care systems to develop plans to support NHS staff in maintaining their mental health.The NHS dental workforce is also able to access the NHS Practitioner Health Service. NHS England is in the process of reviewing the service as part of a wider review into its mental health and wellbeing offer to all staff, including the dental workforce.

Smoking

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help increase the number of people participating in smoking cessation programmes.

Andrea Leadsom: Smoking is the number one entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability and death in this country. It is responsible for 80,000 yearly deaths in the United Kingdom and one in four of all UK cancer deaths. It costs our country £17 billion a year, £14 billion of which is through lost productivity alone. It puts a huge pressure on the National Health Service and social care, costing over £3 billion a year. Quitting smoking is the best thing a smoker can do for their health and smokers are three times as likely to succeed with stop smoking services (SSS) when compared to an unsupported quit attempt.As announced in Stopping the start: our new plan to create a smokefree generation, published in October 2023, the Government is investing an additional £70 million per year for five years to support local authority-led SSS, around doubling current spend and supporting 360,000 people to set a quit date each year. To support engagement with SSS, and increase motivation to quit, we are spending an additional £15 million per year to fund national anti-smoking campaigns. We are also investing up to £45 million over two years to roll out our national ‘Swap to Stop’ scheme and establishing a financial incentives scheme to help pregnant smokers and their partners quit smoking with smoking cessation support.Vaping is never recommended for children, and carries the potential harms of future addiction while their lungs and brains are still developing. The health advice is clear, vapes can be an effective tool to help smokers quit, but young people and those who have never smoked should not vape, or be encouraged to vape.

Dental Services: Hornsey and Wood Green

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help increase the availability of NHS dentistry in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency.

Andrea Leadsom: In 2022/23, 954 dentists in the North Central London Integrated Care Board performed some National Health Service work, the equivalent to 62.5 dentists per 100,000 people. This is higher than the figure in 2021/22, when 891 dentists performed some NHS work, the equivalent to 58.4 dentists per 100,000 people. Our plan to recover and reform NHS dentistry will make dental services faster, simpler, and fairer for patients, and will fund approximately 2.5 million additional appointments. The plan sets out a number of actions which will improve access for patients, by helping the sector to recover activity more quickly, addressing underlying issues, and setting out the action needed for longer term reform of the system. A new patient premium will support dentists in taking on new patients, and a new marketing campaign will help people locate an NHS dentist as needed. New dental vans will bring dental care to our most isolated communities, and Golden Hello incentives will encourage dentists into under-served areas. We will further support dentists by raising the minimum Units of Dental Activity rate to £28 this year, making NHS work more attractive and sustainable.

Smoking

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that lobbying by the tobacco industry does not undermine future public health policies aimed at reducing smoking rates.

Andrea Leadsom: Smoking is responsible for approximately 80,000 deaths a year in the United Kingdom, and causes around one in four cancer deaths in the UK. It also costs our country £17 billion a year, and puts a huge burden on the National Health Service. Smoking is an addiction, and there is no liberty in addiction. It causes harm to not only the smoker, but to society as a whole. That is why we have introduced the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to create the first smokefree generation, and enable us to further crack down on youth vaping. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is available at the following link:https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3703The UK is a party to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and under Article 5.3 has an obligation to protect the development of public health policy from the vested interests of the tobacco industry. As a world leader in tobacco control, the Government takes this commitment very seriously. In 2023, the Department published guidance for Government engagement with the tobacco industry, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protocol-for-engagement-with-stakeholders-with-links-to-the-tobacco-industry/guidance-for-government-engagement-with-the-tobacco-industryThe Department regularly publishes correspondence from, or to, those with links to the tobacco industry, and it is available at the following link:https://khub.net/web/phe-national/public-library/-/document_library/v2WsRK3ZlEig/view/394794557

Naloxone

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of creating a national naloxone programme.

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the availability of naloxone across England.

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her planned timetable is for publishing a response to her Department's consultation on Expanding access to naloxone.

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she is taking steps to increase awareness of naloxone.

Andrea Leadsom: Naloxone is highly effective in reducing opioid overdose-related deaths, and the Government is working to widen access to, and increase the uptake of, this life saving drug. A prescription only medicine that is available across the United Kingdom, naloxone can be prescribed by a doctor or non-medical prescriber or provided, under a Patient Group Direction. It can also be supplied without prescription by drug services, which include specialist National Health Service and voluntary sector treatment services, as well as community pharmacies providing other substance misuse services across the UK.Naloxone has been available for anyone to use in an emergency since 2005. There is good awareness of it, supported by earlier guidance by the Department and its agencies in 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2023. Drug treatment services and their suppliers also provide independent awareness-raising materials, targeting people who use opioids.The Government launched a UK-wide public consultation to seek views on our proposal to amend the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 so that more professionals, services, and family members can give out take-home naloxone supplies. The consultation closed on 6 March 2024, and the responses are currently being analysed. The Government will publish its official response shortly.The Government is working to increase naloxone carriage, and has provided additional investment in drug treatment services to support this work. In England, local authorities and their partners have been increasing naloxone supply in recent years. There are now three naloxone products available, and supply has been meeting demand. To enable the Government to respond to any future change in demand for naloxone, the Department is working with the Home Office to model scenarios where demand for naloxone may increase, and has conducted a commercial engagement exercise to better understand the naloxone market, and the market’s capacity to respond to changes in demand.

Community Nurses: Staff

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of capacity in district nursing on the timeliness of patient discharge from hospital in 2023.

Helen Whately: Between the end of March 2023 and the end of March 2024, the number of supported discharges for patients assessed as no longer meeting the criteria to reside has increased by 17% for patients on pathway 1. Pathway one is for patients returning to their usual place of residence with new or additional health or social care needs. Packages of post-discharge support for these patients may include support from district nurses.We recognise the importance of increasing district nursing capacity. Through the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan we aim to increase training places for district nurses by 150% by 2031/32. As of January 2024, there were 4,295 full-time equivalent district nurses working in community services in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England, this is 0.5% fewer than in 2019.

Palliative Care

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that NHS integrated care boards commission (a) end-of-life and (b) other palliative care for people in all age groups.

Helen Whately: While the National Health Service has always been required to commission appropriate palliative and end of life care services to meet the reasonable needs of their population, in 2022, palliative care services were added to the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission, promoting a more consistent national approach and supporting commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care in all settings. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications for both adults and children.From April 2024, NHS England will include palliative and end of life care in the list of topics for its regular performance discussions between national and regional leads. Additionally, NHS England has commissioned the development of a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together relevant, all age local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of both adults and children in their local population, enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities.NHS England has also funded seven Palliative and End of Life Care Strategic Clinical Networks, each with a dedicated Children and Young People Lead. These networks support commissioners in the delivery of outstanding clinical and personalised care for people in the last year of life and reduce local variation.

Paediatrics: Waiting Lists

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children have been waiting longer than (a) 18 and (b) 24 months for a community paediatric appointment as of 17 April 2024.

Helen Whately: Monthly information on waiting lists and times for community health services in England can be found at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/community-health-services-waiting-lists/.

Intensive Care: Rehabilitation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance her Department provides to NHS trusts on ensuring that patients transitioning from intensive care units to hospital wards receive the necessary specialist care on those wards.

Helen Whately: A quality standard for patient transfers, from critical care to general wards, has been published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and endorsed by NHS England. The quality standard, which emphasises the importance of continuity in rehabilitation, is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs158/chapter/Quality-statement-2-Transfer-from-critical-care-to-a-general-ward

Veterans: General Practitioners

Kevin Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data the Office for Veterans' Affairs holds on the number and proportion of veterans who have informed their GP that they served in the armed forces.

Maria Caulfield: The information requested is not held centrally. Integrated care boards are encouraged to work with health providers in their area, including general practice (GP) surgeries, to ensure patient needs are met. The 2024/25 GP contract will introduce a requirement that GPs must have due regard for the requirements, needs, and circumstances of Armed Forces Veterans, when offering services and making onward referrals. In addition, the Veteran Friendly GP Practices, launched in 2018, is a voluntary scheme which enables GPs to deliver the best possible care and treatment for veterans and their families, including signposting and referrals to specialist services. As of March 2024, 85% of primary care networks have a veteran-friendly accredited GP in their area, and 83% of acute trusts have been accredited as veteran-aware.

Biofuels: Vegetable Oils

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of the NHS using hydrotreated vegetable oil as an alternative to fossil fuels.

Andrew Stephenson: NHS Supply Chain has trialled hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) in its vehicles, and continues to assess HVO’s long-term viability as a fuel source for its network. A 2023 trial showed a 90% reduction in carbon emissions, though not other greenhouse gases, offered by HVO, although it also identified a 62% uplift in fuel costs. Whilst the National Health Service is committed to reducing reliance on fossil fuels across its operations, it will only roll out new measures where they are both fit-for-purpose and cost effective.

Hospitals: Hygiene

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of adapting HTM 01-04: Decontamination of linen for health and social care guidance to include plastics and linen substitutes.

Andrew Stephenson: No assessment has been made of the potential merits of adapting HTM 01-04: Decontamination of linen for health and social care guidance, to include plastics and linen substitutes.

Cancer: Health Services

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of performance against the 62-day referral to treatment cancer standard in England.

Andrew Stephenson: In February 2024, 63.9% of patients, against the standard of 85%, received treatment within 62 days of an urgent suspected cancer or breast symptomatic referral or consultant upgrade, to a first definitive treatment for cancer. This is 1.6% higher than performance in January 2024, and 1.4% higher than the same time last year.The pandemic and recent industrial action placed significant pressure on elective services, including cancer care. We are seeing record levels of referrals, with over 12,000 urgent referrals seen for suspected cancer per working day in February 2024.As outlined in the 2024/25 NHS England Planning Guidance, NHS England is providing over £266 million in cancer service development funding to Cancer Alliances to support delivery of the operational priorities for cancer, which includes increasing and prioritising diagnostic and treatment capacity. The Government remains committed to continuing its recovery from the pandemic, and specifically, to reduce local and national waiting times for cancer treatment.

Department for Work and Pensions

Poverty: Children

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the benefits cap for families with children living in poverty.

Jo Churchill: The latest statistics show that in 2022/23 there were 100,000 fewer children in absolute poverty after housing costs than in 2009/10. Where possible, it is in the best interests of children to be in working households and the benefit cap provides a clear incentive to move into work. Children living in workless households were over 6 times more likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than those where all adults work. To ensure the most vulnerable are supported, exemptions also apply to households who are entitled to disability benefits and/or carer benefits.

Jobcentres: Travel

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the average distance benefit recipients need to travel to their assigned Jobcentre; and what the greatest distance for a recipient was in the latest period for which data is available.

Jo Churchill: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits: Underpayments

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average value was of a benefits underpayment in the 2022-2023 financial year.

Paul Maynard: DWP does not produce an estimate for the average value of a benefit underpayment. We estimate that the total rate of benefit expenditure underpaid in 2022-2023 was £3.3bn: Fraudand error in the benefit system Financial Year Ending (FYE) 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Unemployed People: Birmingham

Tahir Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to support unemployed people in Birmingham with (a) skills training and (b) financial management.

Jo Churchill: In Birmingham, our local Jobcentre Plus partnership teams are working directly with colleges and training providers to ensure claimants have access to the right skills support. Our successful Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) have seen almost three hundred customers in Sparkhill take up this support in the last year. This provision includes pre-employment training, work experience and a guaranteed job interview across a variety of sectors, with further SWAPs available with employers such as HS2, Compass Group, Air Scaffolding, Weatherspoon’s, and Jet 2. In the Hall Green constituency, we have recently supported customers into jobs in the hospitality sector through English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision based at Sparkhill Jobcentre. Customers have also taken up non-teaching roles within local schools through the skills training we have set up with Pineapple Recruitment, and Sparkhill Jobcentre staff work closely with Joseph Chamberlain College to support claimants move into self-employment. We are committed to ensuring that all staff can identify and signpost customers to the financial support they require. Across all our Jobcentres in Birmingham, Work Coaches have regular conversations with customers about the Flexible Support Fund (FSF) and how this can help to remove barriers to work, such as support with childcare costs. The ‘Move In Move On’ programme helps customers in supported accommodation to move into work via a partnership with the Salvation Army. This programme offers financial education, tenancy skills and employability. We also work with The Money House which offers a financial education course to support 16–25-year-olds with banking, budgeting, and spending habits to support in reducing youth homelessness. To help facilitate signposting discussions with customers, staff have access to a database of national and local support information, the District Provision Tool, which ensures that customers can access tailored support where required.

Pension Protection Fund

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will extend member and trade union representation to the board of the Pension Protection Fund.

Paul Maynard: There is no legal requirement for the Board of the Pension Protection Fund to include member or trade union representation, and there are no plans to extend representation to these groups. The Pension Protection Fund does, however, have Member Panels – which Board members are invited to attend – to enable members to feed in views on the service offered and thoughts about changes that could be made in the future.

Carer's Allowance: Telephone Services

Margaret Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the (a) average and (b) maximum amount of waiting time when contacting the Carer's Allowance Unit by telephone.

Mims Davies: Telephony is our customers’ primary channel to contact us. We continually assess the number of calls we are receiving and the associated waiting times, deploying resources accordingly to support service levels wherever this is possible.

Poverty: Children

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of levels of child poverty among (a) BAME, (b) Gypsy, Roma and Traveller and (c) disabled children.

Jo Churchill: Statistics on the number of Children living in absolute and relative poverty by disability in the UK are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication in “table 1_7c” and “table 1_7d” (respectively) of “summary-hbai-timeseries-1994-95-2022-23-tables” at Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab). The number of children living in absolute and relative poverty by ethnic group of head of household can be found in “table 4_1db_BHC” and “table 4_1db_AHC” at the link above. Poverty statistics for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children are not available. The latest statistics published on 21 March 2024 are for the financial period 2022/23. The latest available data can also be found on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/.

Poverty

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the main causes of poverty in (a) children, (b) pensioners and (c) adults.

Jo Churchill: Poverty is a complex subject and there are different ways to measure and assess it. DWP tracks and monitors many different aspects of poverty, including our four statutory measures for children of relative income, absolute income, combined low income and material deprivation and persistent poverty that are published annually. National statistics on the number of individuals living in absolute and relative poverty are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication at Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab). The latest statistics published on 21 March 2024 are for the financial period 2022/23.

Health Services: Coronavirus

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of classifying covid-19 as an occupational disease for healthcare workers; and whether his Department has had discussions with relevant professional bodies on that matter.

Mims Davies: The DWP is advised by the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC), an independent scientific body, on changes to the list of occupational diseases for which Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) can be paid. The Council considered the available scientific and epidemiological evidence around COVID-19 infection and published a Command Paper entitled, ‘COVID-19 and occupational impacts’ in November 2022 found here. The Command Paper recommends that the list of prescribed occupational diseases for which IIDB can be paid should be expanded to include health and social care workers with five serious pathological complications following COVID-19 infection. The Department is currently carrying out a detailed assessment of the report’s recommendations and will respond in due course.

Poverty: Children

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the impact of social security payments on levels of child poverty.

Jo Churchill: The latest statistics show that in 2022/23 there were 100,000 fewer children in absolute poverty after housing costs than in 2009/10. The Government is committed to supporting people on lower incomes and expects to spend around £306bn through the welfare system in Great Britain in 2024/25 including around £138bn on people of working age and children. We estimate that in 2024/5 around 20 million families will benefit from the uprating of DWP and HMRC benefits in Great Britain. Over 11 million children in Great Britain will benefit from the uprating of DWP and HMRC benefits in 2024/5.

Poverty: Children

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on steps to end child poverty.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has targets for ending child poverty.

Jo Churchill: We have set out a clear approach to tackling child poverty based on evidence about the important role of work, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risk of child poverty. The latest statistics show that in 2022/23, children living in workless households were over 6 times more likely to be in absolute poverty (after housing costs) than those where all adults work. This is why our focus is firmly on supporting parents into and to progress in work. We have no plans to reintroduce an approach to tackling child poverty focused primarily on income-based targets. This can drive action that focuses primarily on moving the incomes for those ‘just in poverty’ just above a somewhat arbitrary ‘poverty line’ whilst doing nothing to help those on the very lowest incomes or to improve children’s outcomes. The Department for Work and Pensions currently works across Government to support the most vulnerable households. Ministers and officials work with their counterparts in other departments and external stakeholders to better understand the multidimensional nature of poverty. This includes a cross-government senior officials’ group on poverty.

Medical Certificates

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Prime Minister’s speech on welfare of 19 April 2024, who the specialist work and health professionals are that will be responsible for issuing fit notes.

Mims Davies: The trailblazers announced at Autumn Statement 2023 will be delivered in NHS Integrated Care Systems and fit notes will continue to be issued by the registered healthcare professionals working within the NHS who are specified in legislation – Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacists, Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists. Our ambition is to co-develop a new fit note process delivered through multi-disciplinary teams, bringing together the issuing of fit notes with health and work advice to support people who are at risk of falling out of work or who have already fallen out of work due to ill health.

Employment: Disability

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department it taking to help ensure that disabled people have access to reasonable adjustments in the workplace.

Mims Davies: All employers have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ in the workplace where a disabled person would otherwise be put at a substantial disadvantage compared with their colleagues. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Equality Act and providing guidance on reasonable adjustments. For disabled people who require adjustments which are beyond reasonable adjustments, Access to Work (AtW) can provide a grant for the disability related extra costs of working a disabled employee may face. To support employers an AtW case manager will contact the customer’s employer ahead of making an AtW award to offer advice on reasonable adjustments an employer can provide and the support available under the AtW scheme. DWP has worked with stakeholders to develop a series of Adjustments Passports and Planners to support disabled people, and those with a health condition, with the transitions into employment and between jobs. The Adjustments Passport and Planners provide individuals with an up to date document of their adjustments and working requirements and empower the holder to have more structured conversations about their disability with their employer. They also raise awareness of Access to Work, and where an application is made, help to reduce the need for another assessment, enabling support to be put in place more quickly.The Disability Confident scheme provides employers with the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to attract, recruit, retain and develop disabled people in the workplace. When an employer signs-up to the Disability Confident scheme, they agree to commitments which include anticipating and providing reasonable adjustments as required. They also agree to support any existing employee who acquires a disability or long-term health condition, enabling them to stay in work. The scheme provides resources for members including the recently published Disability Confident Manager’s Guide which explains how managers can make and review reasonable adjustments, consider flexible working, and includes examples of other types of adjustments.As part of the government's response to the Health is Everyone’s Business Consultation, DWP has developed a digital service for employers, offering tailored guidance on health and disability. The service is called Support with Employee Health and Disability and is live across GB, testing very well with employers. Developed with small and medium enterprise (SME) employers, using user centred design principles, the service offers a simple, interactive and highly usable resource which helps employers to feel more confident having conversations about health and disability, as well as understanding and fulfilling their legal obligations on topics such as reasonable adjustments, and signposting to sources of expert support.The fit note includes an option to allow a healthcare professional to indicate that a patient ‘may be fit for work subject to the following advice’ and provide general details of the functional effect of the individual’s condition and recommend common types of workplace adjustments. However, over 10 million fit notes each year are issued in England without any such advice, resulting in a missed opportunity to help people get the appropriate support they may need to remain in work.That is why we announced funding in the 2023 Autumn Statement to test new ways of providing individuals receiving a fit note with tailored support, including referral to support through their local WorkWell service pilot. To support this, we launched a Call for Evidence to seek views on how the current fit note process works and the support required to facilitate meaningful work and health conversations and help people start, stay and succeed in work.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

China and North Korea: Foreign Relations

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the meeting between China and North Korea on 13 April 2024.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK is clear that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) breaches of UN Security Council Resolutions, including its illegal ballistic missile launches and sanctions evasion, threaten global peace and stability. We are working closely with our partners to urge the DPRK regime to return to talks and take credible steps towards complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation. Until then, we will continue to enforce sanctions against them. We urge North Korea to come back to the negotiating table, and for China to incentivise that path.

Development Aid

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent steps his Department has taken to increase collaboration with (a) French, (b) German and (c) US overseas development agencies.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Our recent White Paper sets out the importance we place on partnerships to support development. The UK has longstanding and close development relationships with France, Germany and the USA. We are strengthening our partnerships through bilateral Strategic Development Dialogues, held with France in October 2023, Germany and the US in February and March 2024 respectively. They allow in-depth exchange at senior levels, and are designed to strengthen collaboration and identify joint areas of action.Strategic Development Dialogues are underpinned by regular engagement overseas and between capitals at official and Ministerial levels. I personally met Minister Zacharopoulou at COP28, spoke with Minister Keul in February and met USAID Administrator Samantha Power in Washington in April.

Sudan: Food Aid

Vicky Ford: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will increase multi-year funding to support (a) the most food-insecure people in Sudan and (b) Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK provided £42.6 million in humanitarian aid to support people in Sudan in 2023-2024, including £12.2 million to UNICEF for nutrition activities and approximately £23 million to the Sudan Humanitarian Fund for multisector response, including a high proportion of food security interventions. We also helped those fleeing to neighbouring countries in 2023-24, with £7.75 million to support existing and new Sudanese refugees as well as vulnerable returnees and host communities in South Sudan and £15 million to those in Chad. In 2024/2025, UK ODA to Sudan will nearly double to £89 million, including funding to UNICEF to provide emergency and life-saving food assistance. The UK will also be working with the World Food Programme to assist in the provision of assorted food commodities to people in Sudan.

Gaza: Aid Workers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, with reference to the oral statement of 17 April 2024 on the Humanitarian situation in Gaza by the Parliamentary Under- Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how his Department called for a wholly independent review of the killing of the World Central Kitchen aid workers; and what (a) guarantees of independence and (b) investigatory powers he has sought.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: As the Prime Minister said in his call with Prime Minister Netanyahu on 2 April, the UK was appalled by the killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including three British nationals, in an Israeli airstrike on 1 April. The Prime Minister called for a thorough and transparent investigation into what happened. Both the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have stressed the importance of effective deconfliction.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Claire Hanna: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to paragraph 2.22 of the National Audit Office's report entitled Progress with the merger of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for International Development (DFID), published on 25 March 2024, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the conclusion that development capability has reduced since the merger.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The NAO report notes FCDO has made progress in key areas, including on development.The White Paper on international development published in November set out UK ambition and commitment on this agenda. These commitments have begun to be implemented including through the appointment of a second permanent undersecretary focused on development and wider action on strengthening FCDO and HMG development capacity.

Djibouti: Entry Clearances

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the extent of Djibouti's entry requirements for British citizens.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what information his Department holds on the number of British citizens that were denied entry to Djibouti in the last year.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterpart in Djibouti on the (a) entry requirements for and (b) reasons for denial of entry of British citizens wishing to enter that country.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what information his Department holds on the number of UK citizens that have been refused entry to Djibouti in the last year.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Information on entry requirements for those travelling to Djibouti is accessible though the travel advice pages on Gov.uk. Tourist visas are available online or on arrival, though the Djiboutian authorities always retain the right to allow or deny visas at their own discretion. In the last year, there has been one case of a British national being denied access to Djibouti by the authorities. Following a recent evaluation of our travel advice, there are no plans for the UK Government to seek further clarification on entry requirements.

Developing Countries

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the report entitled The Great Reversal: Prospects, Risks, and Policies in International Development Association Countries, published by the World Bank on 15 April 2024.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We welcome the report recently published by the World Bank. The White Paper on International Development, published in November 2023, recognised the challenges faced by our partners, including International Development Association countries. It sets out how the UK will work with our partners to respond to these challenges, through action on seven priorities. The UK is focusing our efforts where they are most needed and most effective, aiming to spend over 50 per cent of our bilateral Overseas Development Assistance in the Least Developed Countries.

Sudan: Violence

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent assessment he has made of the seriousness of the risk of atrocities in Kas in the South Darfur state of Sudan.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK condemns the continuing violence and suffering being wrought by the warring parties on the people of Sudan, including in South Darfur. The UK remains committed to ensuring that those responsible for these serious atrocities in Sudan are held to account. The UK welcomed the publication of the Panel of Experts report in early March. The credible evidence of external military support to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) highlighted in the report is concerning. As well as the work of the UN Panel of Experts, we continue to support the essential work of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sudan (OHCHR) and the International Criminal Court in investigating and documenting reports of these serious atrocities. In addition, on 11 October, the Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted the UK-led 'Sudan Core Group' resolution to establish an independent and international Fact-Finding Mission to ensure credible allegations of human rights violations and abuses in Sudan will be investigated impartially. The HRC joint statement on behalf of 44 counties also reinforces UK support for better humanitarian access and a ceasefire in Sudan.

Asia-pacific Region: Climate Change

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent discussions he has had with his Asian Pacific counterparts on climate change mitigation measures.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Climate change remains a central focus of our diplomatic relations. The FCDO ministerial team have and will continue to engage with counterparts in the Asia Pacific including those most vulnerable to climate change and essential to the green transition. In March, the Foreign Secretary discussed climate change with the Australian Foreign Minister at AUKMIN (the Australia-UK Ministerial Meeting) and launched the UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) Country Fund in Thailand, worth up to £6 million. The region includes key partners like Australia, whom we work with through the UNFCCC as members of the Umbrella Group; developing countries we are supporting with their climate transitions (such as Indonesia and Vietnam, where we are leading JETPs - Just Energy Transition Partnerships); major emitters such as China and India; and the Pacific Island Countries, who are uniquely vulnerable to climate impacts and a strong moral voice on climate.

Israel: International Law

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps his Department is taking to (a) investigate and (b) verify claims on Israel's compliance with international law.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Foreign Secretary has now reviewed the most recent advice about the situation in Gaza and Israel, and the latest assessment leaves our position on export licences unchanged.As ever, we will keep the position under review. We will continue to use this robust legal process to assess these issues.

Israel: Arms Trade

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, when he last met with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade to discuss the sale of arms to Israel.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Foreign Secretary continues to discuss all aspects of the current conflict in Israel with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade.All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria.

Sudan: Christianity

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps his Department is taking to support Sudanese Christians.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We will provide £89 million to support Sudan this year, mostly for humanitarian assistance. Exact budgets have not yet been allocated, but this will include support to protection activities for vulnerable people affected by the conflict. UK support will be providing nutrition, safe drinking water, medical care and shelter, as well as supporting protection services for those affected by Gender Based Violence. The UK funds and supports the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sudan (OHCHR), a UN body that plays a crucial role in monitoring and reporting on human rights violations including of any particular religious group.

Gaza: Sanitary Products

Ruth Jones: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent steps his Department has taken to help ensure women and girls in Gaza have access to sanitary products.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We have provided £4.25 million to the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, to provide life-saving support to vulnerable women and girls in Gaza. This support is expected to reach about 111,500 women, around 1 in 5 of the adult women in Gaza. It will support up to 100 community midwives, the distribution of around 45,000 clean delivery kits and 20,000 menstrual hygiene management kits. These dignity kits include tampons, reusable pads and underwear. The Foreign Secretary met with the London representative of UNFPA on 28 March to discuss the needs of vulnerable women and girls in Gaza and I [the Deputy Foreign Secretary] met with UNFPA Executive Director, Natalia Kanem, on 16 April in Geneva.

Libya: Violence

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of recent violence in Tripoli.

David Rutley: We are aware of the recent clashes in Tripoli, and continue to monitor the situation on the ground closely. The UK calls for all parties to exercise restraint, and to avoid escalation or retaliatory action. Libyan actors must press forward in fulfilling their responsibilities to uphold peace and security across the country, by engaging meaningfully with the political process to deliver a Libyan-led political settlement. We continue to work with international partners to improve stability in Libya at the national and local level, including engaging with communities across Libya to solve local conflicts and build peace.

Gaza: Israel

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make representations to his Israeli counterpart on ceasing Israel's military campaign over (a) areas where (i) residents are residing and (ii) aid is being distributed and (b) hospitals.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Foreign Secretary was in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 17 April and held high-level talks with Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Herzog and Foreign Minister Katz. He reiterated the need for an immediate pause in the fighting in Gaza to get aid in and hostages out, to allow progress towards a sustainable ceasefire.

Myanmar: Military Coups

Catherine West: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the conflict in Myanmar; and whether he plans to take steps to oppose the coup authorities in that country.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK condemns the coup in Myanmar. In February, we announced our eighteenth round of sanctions, targeting the Myanmar Security Force's access to finance, arms and equipment. We consistently use our role as penholder at the United Nations Security Council to maintain pressure on the military, including leading the first ever Security Council Resolution on the Myanmar crisis in December 2022. Since the coup we have provided almost £150 million in life-saving humanitarian assistance, emergency healthcare, education and support to civil society and local communities.

Western Sahara: Politics and Government

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether Morocco is listed by the UN as the Administering Power of Western Sahara.

David Rutley: Morocco is not listed as the administering Power of Western Sahara on the United Nations' list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

Western Sahara: Civil Liberties

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will raise in the UN Security Council reports of restrictions to freedom of (a) expression and (b) association in the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara.

David Rutley: The UK Government is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide, including in Morocco and Western Sahara, and we raise human rights issues with the Moroccan Government accordingly. We also engage on these issues at the UN and have consistently supported language in the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions which encourages the parties to continue their efforts to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights in Western Sahara.

Sudan: Humanitarian Aid

Vicky Ford: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent steps he has taken to secure guarantees from participants in the Sudan conflict for the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK has pressed the warring parties to agree to a permanent ceasefire, to protect civilians and to allow unrestricted humanitarian access, both cross-line and cross-border, so that aid can reach people in desperate need. On 8 March, the UK-led UN Security Council Resolution 2724 called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access. We welcome unified international messaging at the Paris Pledging Conference on 15 April - at which the UK was represented by Lord Benyon  - as well as plans to re-start Jeddah talks in the next weeks to maintain pressure on the warring parties to facilitate cross-line and cross-border humanitarian access and a permanent ceasefire.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Question

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of the UK's constitutional arrangements on the strength of the Union.

Felicity Buchan: In line with the longstanding practice of successive administrations, Cabinet discussions are confidential, and details are not normally disclosed. But I will say that the United Kingdom is one of the world’s most successful political and economic unions. When we work together as one United Kingdom, we are safer, stronger and more prosperous.

Leasehold

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will make an estimate of the number of leaseholders who purchased leases between 14 February and 20 July 2022.

Lee Rowley: For information on land purchases I would encourage you to contact HM Land Registry.

Buildings: Fire Prevention

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that when a building owner enters administration, qualifying leaseholders remain protected from non-cladding remediation costs under the Building Safety Act.

Lee Rowley: The costs of remediation will only fall on leaseholders in the event some or all of the leaseholders choose to buy the freehold collectively and take over the rights and responsibilities of being the freeholder. Otherwise, the responsibilities will remain with the freeholder or, following the conclusion of any insolvency proceedings, with the party who acquires the freehold following termination of the insolvency. In which case, the leaseholder protections will apply.As a result, qualifying leaseholders under the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act 2022 will remain protected in law from the costs of non-cladding historical safety defects being passed on to them through the service charge (under the terms of the protections).Should a building owner become insolvent and enter administration, interested parties including leaseholders can also potentially look to pursue a previous freeholder, developer and any associated company or person for remediation costs through a Remediation Contribution Order and also have the potential to pursue developers, contractors or manufacturers where they are liable for defects which meant one or more dwellings in the building was not fit for habitation when the relevant works were completed.

Cladding Safety Scheme

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information his Department holds on the average time taken between a building entering the Cladding Safety Scheme pipeline for investigation and entering the pre-application stage of the scheme.

Lee Rowley: The time taken to enter the pre-application stage depends on the speed of the applicant providing the necessary information. On average, applicants who enter the pre-application stage of the scheme do so two months after receiving the initial communication from Homes England which requires them to provide information about the status of their building.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the research entitled EWS1 or equivalent lender data on mortgage valuations for flats: October 2023 to December 2023, published by his Department on 21 March 2024, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the proportion of mortgage valuations on high rise flats that required an EWS1 form or equivalent in 2023.

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department's quarterly release of EWS1 (or equivalent) lender data on mortgage valuations for flats, published on 21 March 2024, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the fact that one in six EWS1 requests for mortgage valuations from October to December 2023 were for low rise buildings (1-4 storeys).

Lee Rowley: The EWS1 form is not a Government process, and we do not support its use in the mortgage process.To aid transparency, the department does provide data during the process so that people can see how the use of EWS1 forms has changed over time.We continue to press the industry to accept other forms of assurance other than EWS1s, such as a comprehensive fire risk assessment including the external wall systems, which building owners are mandated to carry out, under the Fire Safety Act 2021.

Candidates and Voting Rights: Dual Nationality

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to ensure that British citizens with lawful dual citizenship are able to (a) vote and (b) stand for elections in all parts of the UK and overseas territories.

Simon Hoare: A British citizen with dual nationality can register to vote and qualify to stand in UK parliamentary, local and police and crime commissioners (PCC) elections as a British citizen, as long as they meet the other qualifying requirements, such as age and residency.The online Register to Vote service includes information to assist individuals with more than one nationality. On the section of the service requesting nationality information, text below that question advises applicants with more than one nationality to include them all. The same guidance appears on paper application forms.The Electoral Commission produces guidance for EROs to use when processing applications to register to vote. This guidance advises that when an application is received from a dual national, the ERO “should always process an application in accordance with the nationality that provides the higher level of franchise”.Elections in UK overseas territories are determined by each territory and the Government has no plans to change this. Each Overseas Territory has its own rules and regulations regarding voting and candidacy eligibility.The UK Government believes that the current fundamental structure of our constitutional relationships with the Overseas Territories is the right one. Elected governments of the Territories have powers to the maximum extent possible, consistent with the UK retaining those powers necessary to discharge its sovereign responsibilities.

Veterans: Identity Cards

Duncan Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has had discussions with the Minister for the Cabinet Office on the potential merits of designating veterans ID cards as an accepted form of voter identification at polling stations.

Simon Hoare: The Government reviewed the list of accepted identification as part of the wider evaluation of the impact and implementation of voter identification at the May 2023 local elections in England. We concluded that, at this time, there are no suitable additions to be made to this list. This review included consideration of the Veteran Card.

Elections: Campaigns

Richard Foord: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will have discussions with the Minister for the Cabinet Office on the potential merits of reviewing regulations on online political campaigning before the next General Election.

Simon Hoare: In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.

Housing: Construction

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of making water companies statutory consultees in planning permission applications for new housing developments.

Lee Rowley: The Government committed during the passage of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 to consult on whether water companies should become statutory consultees on certain planning applications, and if so, how best to do this. The Secretary of State has since commissioned Sam Richards to undertake an independent review of statutory consultees within the planning system and the recommendations from this will be published in due course.In the meantime, it is important that water companies engage local planning authorities on their applications at the right time so they can input effectively and not slow down the application process.

Planning

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will publish a revised version of his Department's Planning Policy Guidance to reflect recent changes to the National Planning Policy Framework.

Lee Rowley: Since 19 December 2023, we have updated Planning Practice Guidance multiple times to include new guidance on Biodiversity Net Gain, and updated existing guidance on the Community Infrastructure Levy, Housing Supply and Delivery, the Green Belt, Natural Environment and Viability. Further guidance updates will be published as necessary in due course.

Ministry of Justice

Crimes of Violence

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of section 156 (2) of the Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 on levels of attacks on workers undertaking public-facing roles.

Laura Farris: Section 156 (2) of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 introduced a new statutory aggravating factor for certain assault offences where they are committed against a person providing a public service, performing a public duty, or providing services to the public. The Government introduced this to ensure that the public-facing nature of a victim's role would be considered, allowing the court to give a longer sentence within the statutory maximum for the offence.The Ministry of Justice does not collect or publish data on the use of aggravating factors. Currently, there is no specific offence for an attack against a worker undertaking a public-facing role. As assault of a worker in a public-facing role is not a specific offence, we are unable to assess the trends relating to assaults on public-facing workers specifically.The Government recognises the seriousness of assaults on workers undertaking public-facing roles and is clear that we must adopt a zero-tolerance approach to assault against those who serve the public. This is why in April 2024, the Government published ‘Fighting Retail Crime: more action’, within which the Government announced plans to introduce a new offence of assault against a shop worker, building on the operational policing commitments in the police-led Retail Crime Action Plan published in October 2023.

Just Stop Oil: Prison Sentences

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the cases of Just Stop Oil protestors who were imprisoned on remand for slow-marching.

Gareth Bacon: The decision to remand an individual in custody or to grant bail is solely a matter for the independent judiciary acting in accordance with the law. The Ministry of Justice therefore cannot intervene in any decision made by the court and cannot assess whether remands to custody or bail are more appropriate in these cases.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals relating to Personal Independence Payment claims are awaiting a hearing (a) nationally, (b) by region, (c) by Tribunal Office and (d) by hearing venue; what the average length of time between such appeals being (i) lodged and (ii) heard is (A) nationally, (B) by region, (C) by Tribunal Office and (D) by hearing venue; and in how many cases the length of time waited has exceeded this average (1) nationally, (2) by region, (3) by Tribunal Office and (4) by hearing venue as of 22 April 2024.

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals relating to Disability Living Allowance claims are awaiting a hearing (a) nationally, (b) by region, (c) by Tribunal Office and (d) by hearing venue; what the average length of time between such appeals being (i) lodged and (ii) heard is (A) nationally, (B) by region, (C) by Tribunal Office and (D) by hearing venue; and in how many cases the length of time waited has exceeded this average (1) nationally, (2) by region, (3) by Tribunal Office and (4) by hearing venue as of 22 April 2024.

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals relating to Employment Support Allowance claims are awaiting a hearing (a) nationally, (b) by region, (c) by Tribunal Office and (d) by hearing venue; what the average length of time between such appeals being (i) lodged and (ii) heard is (A) nationally, (B) by region, (C) by Tribunal Office and (D) by hearing venue; and in how many cases the length of time waited has exceeded this average (1) nationally, (2) by region, (3) by Tribunal Office and (4) by hearing venue as of 22 April 2024.

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals relating to Universal Credit claims are awaiting a hearing (a) nationally, (b) by region, (c) by Tribunal Office and (d) by hearing venue; what the average length of time between such appeals being (i) lodged and (ii) heard is (A) nationally, (B) by region, (C) by Tribunal Office and (D) by hearing venue; and in how many cases the length of time waited has exceeded this average (1) nationally, (2) by region, (3) by Tribunal Office and (4) by hearing venue as of 22 April 2024.

Mike Freer: The tables below set out the number of Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Employment Support Allowance and Universal Credit appeals awaiting a hearing (a) nationally, (b) by region, and (d) by hearing venue as at end of December 2023 (the latest period for which data are available). There are no separate data collated at (c) tribunal office level.Information about the average length of time between appeals being lodged and heard; and in how many case the length of time waited has exceeded this average is not held centrally.Personal Independence Payment1 at December 232Region / VenueTotal Open CaseloadReady To ListListed For HearingLondon68043861980Bexleyheath110East London1543905234Enfield27113Fox Court33181846483Hatton Cross2439872Romford51235367Sutton1160647121Midlands933050521369Birmingham19841007354Boston20213425Chesterfield45725557Coventry69844271Derby70141791Hereford1014320Kidderminster1446030Leicester813415108Lincoln42725846Northampton48832856Nottingham1135610168Nuneaton995813Shrewsbury33318546Stoke42722863Walsall31613666Wellingborough19611422Wolverhampton637262110Worcester17210023North East706134681316Barnsley1937138Bedlington1596644Berwick1463Bradford691334131Darlington35619549Doncaster31614251Durham33316977Gateshead783321Grimsby1868037Huddersfield32108Hull34218165Leeds514165132Newcastle33212280North Shields1343446Scarborough1587529Sheffield737381119South Shields23311253Sunderland54534953Teesside87158185Wakefield687322138York1504057North West736242501066Barrow845310Birkenhead35522343Blackburn31118058Blackpool35518969Bolton41423169Burnley26315131Carlisle1658632Chester50031565Lancaster105661Liverpool1023495155Manchester1319821164Preston24812358Rochdale43621690St Helens51230173Stockport69945168Wigan42726749Workington1468231Scotland26368114Aberdeen311Ayr1114Dumfries (Cairndale)311Dundee602Dunfermline733Edinburgh701936Galashiels613Glasgow892436Greenock514Hamilton2436Inverness741Kilmarnock211Kirkcaldy22811Oban211Stirling402Stranraer101Wick101South East76964930574Ashford55634938Basildon26414443Bedford20013317Brighton84254140Cambridge23812230Chatham46635523Chelmsford40826533Eastbourne98648Hastings24317710High Wycombe32119232Ipswich41128322Kings Lynn1819113Luton36322916Margate25716220Milton Keynes21211927Norwich65947043Oxford31121627Peterborough30716533Reading36122421Southend953321Stevenage1639414Watford74050243South West59163428625Unallocated 317711511Aldershot28916238Barnstaple80368Bristol1167724122Exeter2248049Gloucester43225738Havant65744045Newport IOW22215313Newton Abbot24612629Plymouth38419355Poole44124949Salisbury461010Southampton60640140Swindon32021823Taunton23913424Truro2556859Worle1316212Wales41812180514Aberystwyth49246Caernarfon1012315Cardiff1746949250Carmarthen721519Haverfordwest1053916Langstone, Newport79345976Llandrindod Wells32168Llangefni19912118Port Talbot30511235Prestatyn27717013Swansea1947525Welshpool52318Wrexham25614625SSCS Regional Centre Not Known1040National48623272416558 Disability Living Allowance at December 232Region / VenueTotal Open CaseloadReady To ListListed For HearingLondon59242673East London14911422Enfield220Fox Court26418036Hatton Cross20143Romford54414Sutton103758Midlands59739491Birmingham1648439Boston1090Chesterfield26202Coventry46354Derby40325Hereford750Kidderminster1181Leicester43328Lincoln36251Northampton26194Nottingham634110Nuneaton430Shrewsbury20153Stoke30234Walsall19101Wellingborough1091Wolverhampton34178Worcester870North East48932668Barnsley1592Bedlington970Bradford54368Darlington29204Doncaster1452Durham20154Gateshead311Grimsby1254Huddersfield110Hull23165Leeds30812Newcastle1675North Shields320Scarborough952Sheffield71523South Shields19114Sunderland40293Teesside67611Wakefield47326York742North West53537287Barrow540Birkenhead32197Blackburn26176Blackpool19102Bolton30205Burnley14112Carlisle934Chester20144Lancaster660Liverpool704512Manchester1138914Preston1492Rochdale402510St Helens42279Stockport60494Wigan31216Workington430Scotland823Ayr210Dundee100Edinburgh202Glasgow100Inverness101Kirkcaldy110South East55542752Ashford33243Basildon25155Bedford20161Brighton46362Cambridge1046Chatham47414Chelmsford38284Eastbourne430Hastings13101High Wycombe27185Ipswich30232Kings Lynn12102Luton27260Margate15141Milton Keynes1483Norwich46373Oxford23181Peterborough19143Reading26230Southend843Stevenage1281Watford60472South West39426645Unallocated 31062Aldershot26202Barnstaple310Bristol79529Exeter1343Gloucester27154Havant48336Newport IOW13111Newton Abbot1280Plymouth21152Poole30232Salisbury301Southampton36265Swindon24192Taunton21172Truro1694Worle1270Wales24714835Aberystwyth330Caernarfon312Cardiff1156118Carmarthen101Haverfordwest403Langstone, Newport45333Llandrindod Wells110Llangefni13101Port Talbot1592Prestatyn16130Swansea934Welshpool100Wrexham21141SSCS Regional Centre Not Known100National34182361454 Employment and Support Allowance4 at December 232Region / VenueTotal Open CaseloadReady To ListListed For HearingLondon38015828East London116594Enfield200Fox Court1494717Hatton Cross1983Romford24122Sutton70322Midlands66735188Birmingham1125719Boston21111Chesterfield33147Coventry48295Derby48266Hereford942Kidderminster1382Leicester69447Lincoln1781Northampton32144Nottingham653112Nuneaton720Shrewsbury38217Stoke49290Walsall25134Wellingborough1161Wolverhampton56258Worcester1492North East46818862Barnsley1875Bedlington1423Bradford41173Darlington2382Doncaster1782Durham2284Gateshead500Grimsby1972Hull20150Leeds2071Newcastle2593North Shields1935Scarborough1244Sheffield40156South Shields2781Sunderland38203Teesside49256Wakefield42187York1775North West3238272Barrow501Birkenhead912Blackburn1333Blackpool1314Bolton2164Burnley703Carlisle911Chester2556Lancaster730Liverpool38167Manchester501512Preston421Rochdale2865St Helens2112Stockport40179Wigan2449Workington913Scotland2142070Aberdeen1303Ayr1716Campbeltown Centre100Dumfries (Cairndale)907Dundee1203Dunfermline501Edinburgh27115Galashiels621Glasgow50618Greenock1230Hamilton1933Inverness1406Kilmarnock201Kirkcaldy822Lerwick200Stirling1724South East42020948Ashford20101Basildon1672Bedford1371Brighton39206Cambridge1151Chatham1683Chelmsford37183Eastbourne220Hastings934High Wycombe1981Ipswich25141Kings Lynn1573Luton22131Margate410Milton Keynes951Norwich36175Oxford21133Peterborough32123Reading34194Southend220Stevenage961Watford29124South West49029515Unallocated 31483Aldershot31240Barnstaple640Bristol80424Exeter1251Gloucester35210Havant65431Newport IOW27212Newton Abbot26150Plymouth31190Poole32251Salisbury730Southampton49261Swindon1782Taunton22120Truro21120Worle1570Wales43427813Aberystwyth1053Caernarfon1061Cardiff1551083Carmarthen1060Haverfordwest1380Langstone, Newport88551Llandrindod Wells110Llangefni23150Port Talbot37260Prestatyn24142Swansea27110Welshpool1363Wrexham23170SSCS Regional Centre Not Known302National33991581398 Universal Credit5 at December 232Region / VenueTotal Open CaseloadReady To ListListed For HearingLondon26591361215East London56629457Enfield821Fox Court146875494Hatton Cross1024013Romford1698534Sutton34618616Midlands26021489406Birmingham713381142Boston51347Chesterfield623411Coventry20212514Derby1598731Hereford21160Kidderminster20152Leicester26516029Lincoln1237419Northampton1268216Nottingham25314850Nuneaton1170Shrewsbury78457Stoke99559Walsall1166415Wellingborough43296Wolverhampton21810944Worcester42244North East20071012385Barnsley552613Bedlington462015Berwick530Bradford20811830Darlington702619Doncaster843118Durham40177Gateshead241110Grimsby694111Huddersfield300Hull1086216Leeds1736830Newcastle22910948North Shields45169Scarborough492415Sheffield1606740South Shields714013Sunderland1247912Teesside22713737Wakefield1708832York472910North West1512572308Barrow1261Birkenhead34155Blackburn33152Blackpool541310Bolton1073224Burnley65298Carlisle29144Chester61176Lancaster27133Liverpool1794934Manchester467226112Preston3578Rochdale912317St Helens793413Stockport1414543Wigan852917Workington1351Scotland658187219Aberdeen33815Ayr401213Dumfries (Cairndale)1315Dundee441013Dunfermline1432Edinburgh1203140Galashiels1463Glasgow2066471Greenock25610Hamilton591719Inverness2239Kilmarnock200Kirkcaldy2294Kirkwall101Lerwick101Lewis201Oban412Stirling29139Stranraer320Wick411South East20021053321Ashford1174728Basildon702419Bedford48306Brighton1737635Cambridge683311Chatham702721Chelmsford1076211Eastbourne26153Hastings43278High Wycombe1257014Ipswich89548Kings Lynn361812Luton1106516Margate39188Milton Keynes48276Norwich1458622Oxford1116613Peterborough914514Reading1417321Southend653716Stevenage45272Watford23512627South West1744112165Unallocated 343262Aldershot120745Barnstaple24150Bristol34221911Exeter59320Gloucester136997Havant1871335Newport IOW49354Newton Abbot61344Plymouth84520Poole159969Salisbury1561Southampton1621065Swindon108715Taunton71420Truro87583Worle37234Wales101971262Aberystwyth1681Caernarfon53326Cardiff38927718Carmarthen20140Haverfordwest28191Langstone, Newport1791339Llandrindod Wells330Llangefni27201Port Talbot91683Prestatyn74469Swansea58433Welshpool1483Wrexham67418National1420375071981 From April 2023 the SSCS Tribunal started to list cases using a new Scheduling and Listing solution. This, alongside HMCTS migrating to a new Strategic Data Platform, has resulted in some cases heard and decided using this new listing solution not currently being included in the data above.1. Personal Independence Payment (New Claim Appeals) which replaces Disability Living Allowance was introduced on 8 April 2013, also includes Personal Independence Clams (Reassessments)2. Data pulled 23/4/20243. Unallocated relates to appeals that have not yet been allocated to a venue.4. Data includes Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit reassessment. Employment and Support Allowance was introduced in October 2008 and Incapacity Benefit reassessment followed in October 2010.5. Universal Credit was introduced on 29 April 2013 in selected areas of Greater Manchester and Cheshire, and has been gradually rolled out to the rest of the UK from October 2013. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that the data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when data are used.Management information reflects the data held on the case management system, which is subject to change, and can differ from the quality-assured MOJ official statistics, which form the agreed definitive position.Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that the data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when data are used.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the longest period of time that a claimant has had to wait for their benefit decision to be heard at tribunal (a) nationally and (b) by region in the last five years.

Mike Freer: The information requested is not held centrally.

Just Stop Oil: Remand in Custody

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the reasons for which some Just Stop Oil protestors who were under the age of 18 were held on remand in adult prisons.

Edward Argar: Custody should always be a last resort for children, including on remand. The Government raised the legal test for remanding a child to custody in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. A child must have committed a violent or sexual offence or have been charged with an offence where an adult may receive a custodial sentence of 14 years, and the court must consider it very likely that the child will receive a custodial sentence.Any person under the age of 18 will not be remanded in an adult prison. Instead, they are remanded into Young Offender Institutions (YOIs), a Secure Training Centre (STC), or Secure Children’s Homes (SCHs). Specific placement decisions for custodial remands are made by the Youth Custody Service (YCS), factoring in the needs of the child.

Prisons: Staff

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2024 to Question 21066 on Prisons: Civil Disorder, how may Tornado trained officers each prison should aim to have trained.

Edward Argar: Operation Tornado is a national mutual aid plan by which prisons support one another in the event of a serious incident or occurrence requiring a reinforcement of staff. Operation Tornado is employed by HMPPS for three main reasons:In response to a serious incident requiring a reinforcement of staff.In response to other events or crisis requiring additional staff, who may not necessarily need to be Tornado trained.To aid the transfer of prisoners in the event of a serious incident or the threat of one (with the GOLD commander’s agreement).HMPPS aims to have 2,100 volunteers trained in readiness for Operation Tornado. Since the inception of Operation Tornado in the late 1980s, HMPPS has allocated a commitment to each prison for how many Tornado staff they should have trained. HMPPS monitors the number of staff available for deployment and offer training spaces to ensure resilience to respond to serious incidents.In the event of a serious incident, all prisons, including those who have a commitment of zero, receive the same level of support from the Operation Response and Resilience Unit and Tornado trained staff from other prisons if required.The requested information is in the table attached.PQ_25578_table (xlsx, 16.3KB)

Lewes Prison: Health Services

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what investigation HM Prison and Probation Service has carried out into the causes of the hospitalisation of (a) prison staff and (b) prisoners at HMP Lewes on 28 March 2024.

Edward Argar: On 28 March, following a Maundy Thursday service and meal in the prison chapel at HMP Lewes, two people who were present collapsed and were taken to hospital. After others who had attended the service also reported feeling unwell, the 32 prisoners and six staff who had attended were checked by paramedics. In total, six people required hospital treatment. The police are conducting an investigation into the incident. His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service is continuing to engage with them and to obtain regular updates on the investigation.

Prisons: Education and Training

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) educational and (b) vocational training opportunities are not reduced in prisons; and whether he plans to use those training opportunities to help reduce prison overcrowding.

Edward Argar: Education is key for reducing reoffending and research indicates that prison education reduces reoffending by 9 percentage points. In September 2023, we set out our plans to deliver an improved Prison Education Service that will support more prisoners to improve their literacy and numeracy and increase the number of prison leavers employed on release.Over the past 12 months we have seen a sustained delivery in the number vocational courses undertaken by prisoners following increases to 95,000. To ensure the right education and vocational training opportunities are available across prisons we have:Introduced new Head of Education Skills and Work roles in every prison to provide tailored education plans to meet the needs of their jail.Enabled the first ever prisoner apprenticeships in catering and construction through ground-breaking partnerships with Greene King, Kier and Clipper, with talks underway to open up apprenticeships in other industries.Recruited Neurodiversity Support Managers in every prison to support offenders with neurodivergent needs in accessing education, skills and work opportunities within the prison.Launched a Future Skills programme to train up over 2,000 offenders over the next two years in vital industries such as scaffolding and electrics, before linking them up with employers in the local community and guaranteeing interviews on release.We are investing £16 million to test new ways of increasing workshop activity to get prisoners work-ready and improve labour supply.£1.8 million in the Literacy Innovation Fund which is delivering pilots in 15 prisons targeting those with low literacy levels.I am pleased to say that we have seen positive outcomes in employment in support of our work to make best use of prison capacity. The proportion of prison leavers in employment six months after release has more than doubled in the two years to March 2023, from 14% to over 30%and between 2011/12 and 2021/22, the overall proven reoffending rate has decreased from 31.3% to 25.2%.

Prisoners

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to manage prison population levels.

Edward Argar: We continue to focus on the prison capacity challenge.To meet rising demand, we are building c.20,000 modern, rehabilitative prison places – the biggest prison build programme since the Victorian era. We have already delivered c.5,900 of these, including through our two new 1,700 places prisons, HMP Five Wells and HMP Fosse Way, and c.590 Rapid Deployment Cells across 11 sites. By the end of 2025, we are on track to have delivered around 10,000 places in total.On 11 March, I announced the next steps in our plan, to allow us to go further and faster in removing FNOs. This includes expediting prisoner transfers with our priority partners such as Albania and the creation of a new taskforce across the HO and MoJ to change the way we process FNO cases radically.We have also put in place short-term measures across the prison estate to expand useable capacity, while ensuring our prisons remain safe for staff and offenders.The Government will continue to monitor the evolving situation with demand for prison places carefully, so that we can make sure we have the right approaches in place to maintain the capacity required for a safe and effective criminal justice system.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Energy Supply

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an estimate of projected annual network constraint costs for (a) 2024, (b) 2025 and (c) 2030.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 27 March 2024 to Question 19567 on Energy: Payments, what the cost of (a) curtailing generation of renewable energy and (b) increasing generation of gas power was in 2023.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 27 March 2024 to Question 19567 on Energy: Payments, how much wind energy generation was curtailed in 2023.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Answer of 27 March 2024 to Question 19567, (a) on how many days and (b) for how many hours energy companies were asked to (i) curtail and (ii) increase generation as a result of network constraints in 2023.

Justin Tomlinson: National Grid ESO manages network constraints. In 2023, constraint costs were £1.4bn and the volume of balancing services used to manage constraints was around 12TWh. Data are not available on exact timing of curtailment and the split of costs between renewable and gas generators in 2023.The Government is working with Ofgem and network companies to accelerate network delivery in line with the Winser recommendations and is halving the construction time of new transmission infrastructure from 14 years to 7, delivering the grid capacity needed to alleviate network constraints. The Review of Electricity Market Arrangements consultation considers several options which could help to reduce constraint costs, including locational pricing, electricity storage deployment and establishing constraints markets.

Energy: Standing Charges

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what guidance her Department issues to companies that have difficulties paying the standing charges on their commercial energy tariffs.

Amanda Solloway: The standing charge is matter for Ofgem. Ofgem launched a call for input in November 2023 looking at how standing charges are applied to energy bills and what alternatives could be considered. Ofgem is analysing the responses and will publish its response shortly. Contract negotiations are a matter for businesses and their energy supplier. If a company is concerned about their ability to pay their energy bills, the Government suggests contacting their supplier as soon as possible. It may be possible to negotiate a new contract, including whether a contract without standing charges is available, or to agree a payment plan to help the company to better manage its energy payments.

Energy: Standing Charges

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department has taken to help SMEs pay their energy standing charges.

Amanda Solloway: Standing charges are a matter for Ofgem as the independent economic regulator. Ofgem recently conducted a call for input looking at how standing charges are applied to energy bills. Ofgem is analysing the submissions it received and will publish its response in due course. www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/launch-review-standing-charges-energy-bills The Government recognises that businesses are facing pressure through their energy bills. That is why on 30 March 2024, my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State and I wrote to Ofgem, highlighting the importance of keeping standing charges as low as possible.https://twitter.com/ClaireCoutinho/status/1774001008953217079

Energy: Standing Charges

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will take legislative steps to cap standing charges for (a) commercial and (b) domestic energy suppliers.

Amanda Solloway: The standing charge is matter for Ofgem. Ofgem launched a call for input in November 2023 on standing charges in the non-domestic and domestic retail markets, looking at how they are applied to energy bills and what alternatives could be considered. Ofgem is currently analysing the responses and will publish its response in due course. On 30 March, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State and I wrote to the Chief Executive of Ofgem, highlighting the importance of keeping charges as low as possible.

Housing: Energy

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help increase the number of people that are accredited to retrofit residential housing stock.

Amanda Solloway: To build retrofit workforce capacity, the government has invested nearly £29m since 2021 to deliver around 34,000 retrofit training opportunities. This includes an £8.85m Home Decarbonisation Skills Training Competition to deliver 8,000 insulation installation and retrofit professional qualifications, and a £5m Heat Training Grant to support 10,000 training opportunities relevant to heat pumps and heat networks up to 2025. The government launched a new Low Carbon Heating Technician apprenticeship in Autumn 2023 and is working with industry to develop occupational standards for insulation and building treatments to create new apprenticeships and T Levels for retrofit work.

Carbon Emissions

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what (a) barriers to achieving net zero and (b) solutions the Net Zero Council has identified; and what steps the Government is taking to support the council's work.

Justin Tomlinson: The Net Zero Council has met four times since it was established in 2023. As a strategic partnership between government, business and finance it has catalysed action across the economy. Under its leadership, industry-led roadmaps representing around 80% of UK territorial emissions have been produced in line with clear, consistent guidelines developed by the Council. The Council has also taken action to tackle issues and address barriers, including supporting the re-launch of the UK Business Climate Hub which provides information and resources to SMEs.

Net Zero Innovation Board

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when the Net Zero Innovation Board last met.

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many meetings of the Net Zero Innovation Board have taken place since February 2023.

Justin Tomlinson: The Net Zero Innovation Board provides strategic oversight of government funding of net zero innovation programmes and has met four times since February 2023 – in July, October and December 2023 and March 2024.

Climate Change

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to tackle climate change.

Justin Tomlinson: The UK is the first major economy to halve its emissions – having cut them by around 53% between 1990 and 2023. We have the most ambitious 2030 emissions reduction target of any major economy. The UK over-achieved against the first, second and third carbon budgets. Taken together, the policies set out in last year’s Carbon Budget Delivery Plan keep us on track for Carbon Budgets 4, 5 and 6, our 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution, and ultimately for net zero by 2050. Renewables, which have increased from 7% in 2010 to nearly half of our electricity generation, will help ensure our energy security – providing homegrown energy, and reducing our exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets. The UK is home to the five largest operational offshore wind farm projects in the world and no country has built more offshore wind than the UK bar China.

Cabinet Office

Genomics: National Security

Henry Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Deputy Prime Minister's oral statement of 11 September 2023 on Security Update, Official Report, column 673, whether he has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of designating the genomics sector as Critical National Infrastructure.

John Glen: The genomics sector is not currently designated as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI). There is a strict framework for classification: CNI assets and systems are those that have been assessed as having a significant and catastrophic impact to the functioning of the UK – either through the loss of life or limb, on the economy, or national security, defence or the functioning of the state – should they be disrupted or compromised. The threshold is a high bar so that resources are focused on the highest priority, and most critical, assets and systems.There are strong and sufficient provisions protecting UK genomics databases, including through the UK Data Protection Act (2018), which delivers a data protection framework tailored to the needs of our criminal justice agencies and intelligence services. The relevant genomics data is additionally held within Secure Data Environments, affording further security protections.As with all parts of the CNI landscape, we commit to keeping this position under review.

Veterinary Services: Northern Ireland

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress the Veterinary Medicines working group has made on increasing access to veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland since its inaugural meeting.

Mr Steve Baker: The Government’s priority is to secure a long-term sustainable solution on veterinary medicines. We aim to settle on a solution through discussions with the EU, as well as continuing to consider all available flexibilities as necessary to safeguard and sustain the supply of veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland. To support that work, the Veterinary Medicines Working Group was established in March. It has met twice so far, and is serving as a forum for constructive and detailed exploration of next steps.

Northern Ireland Office

Victims' Payments Scheme: Northern Ireland

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will allocate additional resources to the Victims Payment Board to help process applications to the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme received close to the deadline.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Support for victims of the Troubles - including the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme - is a devolved matter.Resourcing of the Victims Payments Board is a matter for the consideration of the Northern Ireland Executive.

Victims' Payments Scheme: Northern Ireland

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to his oral contribution in response to the question from the hon. Member for West Dunbartonshire of 17 January 2024, Official Report, column 816, what the expected timetable is for publishing his review of the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Since I advised on 17 January that I had met with Justice McAlinden, my officials have conducted extensive stakeholder engagement with more than twenty consultees throughout January to March. We are now considering the findings and will publish the report in due course.

Victims' Payments Scheme: Northern Ireland

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will extend the upcoming application deadline of the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme.

Chris Heaton-Harris: As part of the review of the operation of the Troubles Permanent Disablement Scheme, I will consider evidence to determine whether an extension to the period for backdated payments is warranted. My officials have now conducted their engagement and I will advise on my decision in due course.

Ministry of Defence

Trident Submarines

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how long the vanguard-class submarines have been on patrol at sea on average in each of the last 10 years.

Leo Docherty: The Royal Navy has successfully maintained Operation RELENTLESS, the Continuous At Sea Deterrent, for an unbroken 55 years. We do not disclose details of the Operation, including the duration of time spent at sea, as such information could be used to undermine the security and capability of the mission and our personnel.

Israel: Military Aid

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Royal Air Force operated planes have flown to Israel since 2 February 2024.

Leo Docherty: From 2 February 2024 to 23 April 2024, nine RAF operated planes have flown to Israel.

Israel: Military Aid

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2023 to Question 2667 on Israel: Military Aid, whether any (a) lethal and (b) other military equipment other than medical supplies has been provided to Israel since 4 December 2023.

Leo Docherty: No lethal or other military equipment has been provided to Israel by the UK Government since 4 December 2023.

Israel: Military Aid

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Israeli Air Force operated planes on non-military operations have (a) landed and (b) taken off from British territory since 7 October 2023.

Leo Docherty: For operational security reasons and as a matter of policy, the MOD does not offer comment or information relating to foreign nations’ military aircraft movements or operations.

Army

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Full-Time Trade Trained Strength (FTTTS) of the Army is; and when he expects the Army's FTTTS to be reduced to 72,500.

Leo Docherty: As at 1 January 2024, the Full-Time Trade Trained Strength (FTTTS) of the British Army was 73,190. The Army is continuing to implement Future Soldier which will see a Regular Army of 73,000 by 2025.

Iran: Israel

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what maritime assets are being sent to the Middle East following Iran's drone and missile attack on Israel.

Leo Docherty: As of 22 April 2024, there are no plans to reposition additional maritime assets to the Middle East. However, the UK remains ready to respond to the evolving situation as required. The Ministry of Defence has bolstered its contribution to maritime security in the region with the deployment of HMS Diamond, in support of Op PROSPERITY GUARDIAN, joining HMS Lancaster deployed in support of the long standing Op KIPION.

Armed Forces: Training

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department has taken to evaluate the effectiveness of the impact on bilateral relations of its military training programmes abroad.

Leo Docherty: Military training is an important part of our bilateral defence relationship with many countries, helping to build influence, understanding and interoperability. All training is considered and evaluated on a case-by-case basis using insight from our defence attaches at post, other parts of the global defence network, and set against broader defence and wider Government objectives. Feedback is also received from training recipients which can be used to shape potential further opportunities. Wider Defence engagement is also monitored and evaluated as part of Defence's annual review cycles.

Falkland Islands: Defence

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the air defences of the Falkland Islands in the context of the recent procurement by Argentina of F-16 jets from Denmark.

Leo Docherty: We keep our defence posture in the South Atlantic under regular review to take account of the full range of developments. I am satisfied that the current military presence in the South Atlantic is at the appropriate level to ensure the defence of the Islands.

Northern Ireland Security Guard Service: Medals

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to include the Northern Ireland Security Guard Service in the issuing of the Wider Service medal.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The guarding of military establishments in Northern Ireland by the Northern Ireland Security Guard Service is not activity that falls within scope of the eligibility criteria for the Wider Service Medal.

Lasers: Weapons

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's definition of full operating capability for the Dragonfire directed energy weapon programme is.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's definition of initial operating capability for the Dragonfire directed energy weapon programme is.

James Cartlidge: The Ministry of Defence has committed to accelerating DragonFire Laser Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) into operational capability. This is being procured under the new Integrated Procurement Model, and so we will be equipping multiple Royal Navy ships with DragonFire LDEW as a minimum deployable capability from 2027, and will spirally develop as necessary. As such, there will be no initial operating capability or full operating capability date.

Lasers: Weapons

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many ships his Department plans to fit with the Dragonfire directed energy weapon.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which ship his Department plans to fit first with the Dragonfire directed energy weapon.

James Cartlidge: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has committed to accelerating DragonFire Laser Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) into operational capability by equipping multiple Royal Navy ships with a DragonFire LDEW minimum deployable capability from 2027. During the development of the first DragonFire Directed Energy Weapon, the MOD will identify the most appropriate ship for first deployment of this capability to meet operational requirements and increase the capability of the Royal Navy as well as the number of ships we will fit with this capability.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Freedom of Information

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when her Department plans to answer a request for information, reference FOI 2023/23519, submitted on 1 November 2023 under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 byMrDanWright.

Andrew Griffith: The department attaches great importance to timely responses to FOIs and apologises for the exceptional delay in this case. The department is reviewing processes to mitigate the risk of a recurrence of late responses and will provide a full response no later than 3rd May on this case.

Genomics: China

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2024 to Question 14260 on Genomics: China, whether the programme of work to assess risks from biological data will include a review of (a) BGI Group, (b) MGI Tech and (c) other companies linked to the Chinese state.

Andrew Griffith: Through the delivery of our Biological Security Strategy, the Government is committed ensuring the UK is resilient to a spectrum of biological threats, as well as being a world leader in innovation. As part of this Strategy, the Government is undertaking a programme of work to assess how we can minimise the risks from biological data to protect our burgeoning bioeconomy and build confidence in sharing personal data to improve health outcomes in the UK and across the world. This review covers the extent to which the UK shares data with certain companies.Currently, organisations which hold sensitive biological data are subject to the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In addition, organisations such as Genomics England, UK Biobank and NIHR BioResource actively consider national security in decision making about partnerships with companies overseas. These organisations consult with security personnel on a regular basis to ensure partnerships are aligned with our national security interests.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Voluntary Work: Young People

Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the (a) value of grants made and (b) number of recipients of funding from the National Citizen Service was in (i) Suffolk Coastal constituency, (ii) Suffolk and (iii) the UK since 2010.

Stuart Andrew: Following Covid-19 and a strategic review, in 2023 the NCS Trust launched a new delivery model for the NCS programme. The new programme consists of residential, community and digital experiences. NCS Trust provides grant-funding to local organisations across England to deliver these community experiences.In Suffolk, two organisations have received a total of £321,445 grant-funding. Volunteering Matters have received a grant to work with targeted groups of young people in Suffolk. Hear2Listen have received a grant, and are delivering programmes for young people in their local communities through Inspire Suffolk and Ipswich Town Football Club. Currently NCS Trust have not funded organisations that work exclusively in the Suffolk coastal constituency, however the grant funded organisations they work with in Suffolk cover this area in their remit.

Sports: Facilities

Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the (a) number and (b) value was of grants made to grassroots sport in (i) Suffolk and (ii) Suffolk Coastal constituency since 2010.

Stuart Andrew: The Government is committed to levelling up access to community and grassroots sport - physical activity should be accessible to all, no matter a person’s background or location. As part of this commitment, the Government is delivering an historic level of direct investment to build or upgrade thousands of grassroots facilities across the UK. The total of this investment is £409 million. This includes:£327 million to provide up to 8,000 new and improved multi-sport grassroots facilities and pitches across the whole of the UK between 2021 and 2025.£21.9 million to renovate over 3,000 tennis courts across Scotland, England and Wales between 2022 and 2024.Over £60 million via the Swimming Pool Support Fund in 2023/24 to support public swimming pool providers in England with immediate cost pressures, and provide investment to make facilities sustainable in the longer-term.In total, Suffolk has received over £1.9m in funding through these programmes:Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme: Over £1 million has been awarded through 38 grants since 2021. Over £74k has been invested into Suffolk Coastal specifically through 16 grants. All funded sites are listed on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/multi-sport-grassroots-facilities-programme-projects-2021-to-2025Swimming Pool Support Fund: Over £900,000 has been awarded to 7 individual facilities across 5 Local Authorities in the Suffolk region by March 2025. All funded sites are listed here on Sport England’s website: https://www.sportengland.org/news-and-inspiration/swimming-pool-support-fund-helps-facilities-prepare-futureFunding for football and multi-sport projects awarded in England prior to 2021 were delivered by the Football Foundation, funded through Sport England. Sport England’s funding to the Football Foundation is available on their website, along with all awards made by Sport England to football clubs since 2009: https://www.sportengland.org/Further details of local authorities and swimming pools/leisure centres awarded funding from Phase I and Phase II of the Swimming Pool Support Fund are available on Sport England’s website at:https://www.sportengland.org/news/swimming-pool-support-fund-keeps-leisure-centres-afloathttps://www.sportengland.org/news-and-inspiration/swimming-pool-support-fund-helps-facilities-prepare-futureSport England has also invested an additional £85 million into projects which facilitate participation in grassroots football. For a breakdown of the projects funded across this period, Sport England publishes an updated register of grant awards on a quarterly basis, with awards dating back to 2009 listed in full.

Water Sports: Sewage

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the impact of sewage discharges on sports clubs engaged in (a) swimming, (b) surfing, (c) angling, (d) canoeing and (e) other water sports.

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department has taken to support water sports clubs that have been impacted by high levels of e. coli in (a) rivers and (b) other bodies of water.

Stuart Andrew: In our Sport Strategy, ‘Get Active’, we set out our unapologetic ambition to build a more active nation and our vision to ensure the sector can thrive in the years ahead. Outdoor recreation on our nation’s coastline and in our rivers, lakes and canals are vital to the participation landscape.We recognise the need for water sport participants to have access to consistent and up-to-date data about bathing water quality. DCMS is working with relevant water based National Governing Bodies and the Outdoors For All Coalition to understand the barriers to accessing and participating in green and blue spaces.Designated bathing waters and water quality monitoring in England remain the responsibility of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Environment Agency (EA). DEFRA is a permanent member of the National Physical Activity Taskforce, which ensures that we deliver coordinated policy in this area.

Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press Inquiry

George Eustice: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2024 to Question 12565, whether she plans to instruct the Civil Procedure Rule Committee not to amend the Civil Procedure Rules as recommended in paragraphs 73 and 74 of Part L of the Leveson Inquiry.

Julia Lopez: The Government has no plans to instruct the Civil Procedure Rule Committee to amend rules of court in regard to the commencement and implementation of section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013. This aligns with its commitment to repeal section 40.

Cultural Heritage

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to preserve sites of local cultural heritage.

Julia Lopez: His Majesty’s Government is committed to protecting the historic environment for the benefit of present and future generations. DCMS is responsible for the statutory heritage protection system and welcomes applications — through Historic England — for heritage assets to be considered for designation.Significant public funding is distributed to heritage assets across the country, via both Government and our key partners such as Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.Historic England provides funding for heritage through various grant schemes, including £11.3 million annually for Heritage at Risk. Historic England has also awarded public funding to 67 historic High Streets across England through the £95 million High Street Heritage Action Zone Programme, with the majority of this funding being used to repair and improve heritage assets.The National Lottery Heritage Fund also provides funding for heritage projects with a community angle across the country, awarding more than £8.4 billion in Lottery funds to more than 46,000 heritage projects across the UK. The Fund has made awards in every parliamentary constituency in the UK.Through the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund, HM Government is directly investing in many projects which benefit heritage across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The £150 million Community Ownership Fund is also open to groups across the UK to take ownership of heritage assets which are at risk of being lost to the community. Many of these projects are benefiting heritage assets in areas across the country.DCMS also provides up to £42 million for the Listed Place of Worship Grant Scheme, which provides grants to reimburse the VAT paid on repairs and maintenance to the nation's listed places of worship, to support our historic spiritual architecture for the benefit of present and future generations.

Culture: Urban Areas

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to support the (a) establishment and (b) maintenance of (i) cinemas and (ii) cultural venues in towns.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether any funding opportunities are available for the development of cinemas and other cultural venues in urban areas that are currently underserved in terms of cultural infrastructure.

Julia Lopez: His Majesty’s Government recognises that cinemas and cultural venues are a hugely important part of the UK’s cultural landscape. We are committed to supporting them and the cultural sector more broadly.HM Government provides funding opportunities for the arts and other cultural organisations in a range of ways, including direct Government funding, via arm’s-length bodies like Arts Council England, and indirectly through local authorities.Through Arts Council England’s current investment programme, more than £444 million of public money is being invested each year in arts and culture across England. This is an increase from £410 million in the previous portfolio, and will support 985 organisations across England – more than ever before. In addition, through Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grant funding, over £105 million of awards were provided to individuals and arts organisations in 2022/23. This funding programme is open for applications from organisations anywhere in England.The British Film Institute (BFI) is also conscious of the pressures faced by the cinema sector. The BFI’s Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) is a collaboration of 8 film hubs, managed by leading film organisations and venues around the UK. Film hubs are centres of expertise and support which connect cinemas, festivals, and creative practitioners. You can read more about the National Lottery funding the BFI makes available to bring film to a wider UK audience, including through BFI FAN, at: https://www.bfi.org.uk/get-funding-support/bring-film-wider-uk-audience.The Government’s £150 million Community Ownership Fund helps to ensure that important parts of the social fabric, such as cinemas, pubs, sports clubs, and theatres, can continue to play a central role in towns and villages across the UK. Round 4 is the final round of the Community Ownership Fund, and the last window for bids will open in late May. You can find out more about the next round of the Community Ownership Fund at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/community-ownership-fund-prospectus

Public Buildings: Concrete

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many (a) museums, (b) theatres, (c) art galleries, (d) sports venues and (e) other public buildings for which her Department is responsible have reported RAAC in their roofs; and what estimate she has made of the cost of remediation in each such area.

Julia Lopez: Individual building owners are responsible for health and safety, including responding to safety alerts such as the one relating to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).The Department for Culture Media & Sport is in regular contact with our arm’s-length bodies about all aspects of building management, including RAAC. We are aware of one instance of RAAC in an arm’s-length body and have advised it, and other organisations in the cultural and sporting sector for which DCMS does not have direct responsibility, to follow the latest guidance from the Office of Government Property and Institution of Structural Engineers.

Leader of the House

All-party Parliamentary Groups: National Security

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Leader of the House, what steps she is taking to ensure that secretariats of All-Party Parliamentary Groups do not pass sensitive information to foreign governments.

Penny Mordaunt: The regulation of All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) is a matter for Parliament. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is responsible for monitoring the Register for APPGs and may investigate alleged breaches of the rules.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Housing: Construction

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of ending the automatic right of new housing developments to connect to the sewage system.

Robbie Moore: The Water Industry Act 1991 permits owners of premises or of private sewers to connect to the public sewer and to discharge into it foul and surface water. A sewerage company may, however, refuse this connection if it appears that the construction or condition of the connecting drain or sewer does not reasonably satisfy the standards it reasonably requires or if the connection would be prejudicial to its own sewerage system. Where there are questions or disputes about reasonableness, the regulator - Ofwat - would make the final determination.

Hedges and Ditches: Conservation

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of hedgerow protections.

Sir Mark Spencer: There has been no formal assessment made of the effectiveness of hedgerow protections. The majority of hedgerows on agricultural land were previously managed in accordance with rules contained in cross compliance that were conditioned to payments made through the Basic Payment Scheme and some agri-environment schemes. As we moved away from the Basic Payment Scheme at the end of last year, cross compliance and the hedgerow management rules also ended. The Government consulted last year on the best approach following the end of cross compliance and on the 16 April laid new regulations that, if approved, will put management practices for hedgerows on agricultural land into law. Certain hedgerows are also protected from removal under the Hedgerows Regulations 1997 if they meet specific criteria. These regulations are enforced by Local Planning Authorities, who can utilise their understanding of the local context and landscape character.

Plastics: Waste

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce (a) single-use and (b) other plastic waste.

Robbie Moore: In December 2018, the UK Government published its Resources and Waste Strategy. This sets out how we will achieve a circular economy for plastic and achieve our ambition to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042. Our goal is to maximise resource efficiency and minimise waste to keep plastic in circulation for longer by following the principles of the waste hierarchy: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. One way will do this is by making producers more responsible for the plastic they make with our incoming Collection and Packaging Reforms. Single-use plastics are a particularly problematic type of plastic that makes up much of our waste. We have introduced bans, including most recently in October 2023, on the supply of many unnecessary single-use plastic items. To tackle the use of virgin plastics, the Government brought in the Plastic Packaging Tax in April 2022. Internationally, the UK is a founding member of the High Ambition Coalition, a group of over 60 countries calling for an ambitious and effective UN Treaty to end plastic pollution. At the current round of negotiations in Canada, we are continuing to support a treaty that will address the full lifecycle of plastic to tackle the problem of plastic pollution globally, including through designing out waste and supporting a circular economy for plastic.

Flood and Water Management Act 2010

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to commence schedule 3 of the Floods and Water Act 2010.

Robbie Moore: The Government remains firmly committed to delivering standardised sustainable drainage systems in new developments as stated in our Plan for Water (April 2023). A consultation will take place shortly and final implementation decisions will be made on scope, threshold and process.

Flowers: Imports

Sir Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) gypsophila, (b) solidago, (c) orchids, (d) dianthus and (e) chrysanthemum consignments were imported from the EU between 2010 and 2020.

Sir Mark Spencer: During the period described this data was not collected as the goods detailed were not under restriction from the EU.

Air Pollution

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding is available to local authorities for clean air programmes.

Robbie Moore: We have allocated over £883 million to help local authorities develop and implement local NO2 reduction plans and to support those impacted by these plans. In addition, the Local Air Quality Grant scheme has supported over 500 projects with a total of over £53 million since 2010. We are currently considering whether the Local Air Quality Grant scheme might be redesigned to better deliver positive outcomes for local air quality.

Air Pollution

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help reduce air pollution.

Robbie Moore: This Government has delivered significant reductions in emissions since 2010 – with emissions of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) falling by 24%, and nitrogen oxides down by 48%. We met our targets to reduce emissions for all five key pollutants in the latest reporting year. Our Environmental Improvement Plan sets out how we will continue to drive down emissions from domestic burning, agriculture, transport, and industry – delivering cleaner air for all. PM2.5 is the most harmful pollutant to human health, which is why we have set two new targets to drive down PM2.5 concentrations under the Environment Act 2021:A maximum annual mean concentration of 10 µg m-3 by 2040A population exposure reduction target of 35% by 2040 compared with 2018. These targets mean that on average, people’s exposure to particulate matter will be cut by over a third by 2040, compared with 2018 levels.

Air Quality Grant Scheme

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with stakeholders on the Air Quality Grant Scheme.

Robbie Moore: Officials have had recent discussions with Local Government Association about the decision on the Air Quality Grant Scheme.

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward (a) legislative proposals to amend the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and (b) other legislative proposals to reclassify catapults as illegal weapons when used to harm wildlife.

Rebecca Pow: The Government takes crimes against wildlife seriously, including those involving the use of catapults. The Government has no current plans though to amend the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which protects all wild birds and some wild animals in England and Wales. While the Act does not include catapults in the list of weapons that a person must not use to kill an animal, it is still illegal under this Act to deliberately attempt to kill, injure, or harm protected species. There are a range of offences around deliberate attempts to kill, injure or inflict harm on wildlife under provisions not just in this Act, but also in the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 and in the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Water: Meters

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to allow water customers to have a meter removed from their property.

Robbie Moore: The Government has committed to a 20% reduction in water demand by 2038 and halving leakage by 2050. Metering is central to identifying and reducing leakage and enabling better value for money for the consumer. The Government set out that water companies in areas of ‘water stress’ can compulsorily meter, following evidence it provides value for money and has customer support in their resource planning. Where this is the case, a customer may not be able to switch back to unmeasured charges. Other water companies do offer the opportunity for customers to switch back to an unmeasured charge following meter installation. All water companies offer social tariffs as part of affordability packages for consumers who may be struggling to pay their water bills.

Agricultural Machinery: Northern Ireland

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on reducing barriers to bringing used agricultural machinery from Great Britain to Northern Ireland for resale.

Sir Mark Spencer: As part of the Windsor Framework we announced the new Northern Ireland Plant Health Label Scheme, which has streamlined the process for moving used agricultural and forestry machinery from GB to NI. We have been engaging with industry on the operation of the scheme, and will be taking forward further work in the light of a consultation which concluded earlier this month.

Church Commissioners

Church of England: Slavery

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church plans to publicly acknowledge historic links with the chattel slave trade.

Andrew Selous: The Archbishop of Canterbury has been unequivocal on the theology of this issue, noting on his visit to Cape Coast Castle in Ghana in February 2023:“It was a reminder that the abomination of African chattel enslavement was blasphemy: those who imprisoned men and women in those dungeons saw them as less than human. It is to the Church of England’s eternal shame that it did not always follow Christ’s teaching to give life. It is a stain on the wider church that some Christians did not see their brothers and sisters as created in the image of God, but as objects to be exploited.”The Church Commissioners has been investigating its historic links to the chattel slave trade since 2019 and published a full, transparent report of the findings in January 2023. More information about the whole project is available here: Church Commissioners Links to Historic Transatlantic Slavery | The Church of EnglandThe Church Commissioners seek, through the research it has done and its response, to acknowledge the truth of the past, apologise for the wrongs that this research has highlighted, and to address these wrongs through repentance, remembrance, reconciliation, and renewal. The Church Commissioners believe that by addressing its past transparently, particularly this part of our past, the Church and its teachings will be more relevant to more people. The response is an important missional activity that will support the work and ministry of the Church of England in England.The Church Commissioners are committed to setting up an Impact Investment Fund as part of its response to invest in a better and fairer future for all, particularly for communities affected by historic enslavement. It is hoped this fund will grow over time, reinvesting returns to enable it to have a positive and lasting legacy that will exist in perpetuity and with the potential for other institutions to participate, further enabling growth in the size and impact of the fund. This Fund will be seeded with a £100 million commitment from the Church Commissioners.Despite recent press speculation, the Church Commissioners has no plans to increase its contribution to the Fund over the planned funding period. It is hoped that growth in the impact fund will also enable grant funding for projects focused on improving opportunities for communities impacted by historic African chattel enslavement.The Church Commissioners have also committed to undertake further research, including into the Church Commissioners' history, supporting dioceses and parishes to research and address their historic links with African chattel enslavement, and sharing best practices with other organisations researching their enslavement legacies.

Church of England: Tree Planting

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church plans to take steps to plant trees on diocese lands.

Andrew Selous: Diocesan land is managed by individual dioceses at a local level and, as such, the Church Commissioners are unable to plant trees on diocesan property. However, the Church Commissioners work with diocesan teams and other church bodies to encourage the responsible use of land, reducing carbon emissions and increasing biodiversity where appropriate, including incorporating environmental improvement into food production.The Church Commissioners’ rural estates team has assisted with the creation of a guidance note for diocesan officers on ‘managing land for climate and nature’, attended net zero meetings, and engaged with local diocesan environmental officers. Staff from the Rural Estates team have also met with the Rural Bishops Group to illustrate their work managing the rural estates and share experiences that apply to dioceses. They will continue to share details of tree-planting undertaken by the Commissioners with our diocesan partners and are keen to work together on further improving and implementing good practice.In 2023, the Church Commissioners planted over 1.5million trees on their Forestry and Farmland holdings, 700,000 of which were in the UK.

Churches: Cumbria

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to support churches in (a) Penrith and The Border constituency and (b) Cumbria.

Andrew Selous: The Church Commissioners and National Church Institutions provide support for the mission and ministry of all dioceses in the Church of England.The Church Commissioners have made £340 million available to support a Diocesan Investment Programme overseen by the Strategic Mission and Ministry Board, which includes additional funding and resources for lowest-income communities.In Carlisle Diocese, the Lowest Income Communities Fund has provided £560,000 a year to support a range of projects in Barrow, South and West Carlisle, Workington, Whitehaven, and Maryport. Additional grants from the Strategic Development Fund totalling £ 1.6 million over five years have been awarded. The project funds five new pioneer enabler roles, which in addition to training and support, will help the Diocese reach those groups who are not typically represented in congregations in Carlisle.Support is available to all churches in Penrith and The Border and across the Diocese with maintenance and management of church buildings via the Buildings for Mission fund, which will provide small grants for repairs and restoration and a dedicated support officer to advise parishes.Other grants are available from the Diocese supported by the National Church Institutions to enable parishes to move towards Net Zero and increase capacity building at a parish level with youth work, internships, and vocations, and to support better stewardship of church buildings, to upgrade facilities and technology, and enable easier donation and giving.   To find out more about the work underway across Cumbria, Carlisle and Penrith, please contact the Acting Bishop, The Rt Rev Rob Saner-Haigh, Bishop of Penrith, whose details are here: https://www.carlislediocese.org.uk/bishops-and-senior-clergy/

Redundant Churches

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, how many churches were deconsecrated in each year since 1994.

Andrew Selous: The Church of England law around church buildings is complex, but there are two main types; a consecrated church building where the bishop has performed a rite of consecration, setting the church building (and font and altar) aside for public worship, and a place of worship that has been licensed for that purpose by the bishop (not consecrated).The Church of England does not have a rite of "deconsecration" as such – it is more usual to refer to the 'closure' of a church that is consecrated. The process of closure is a legal one, set out in the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011 and its predecessor legislation. The bishop's consecration of a church building for worship cannot be removed. However, the legal effects of consecration can be withdrawn in order to allow the disposal of the building and a new use to be found for the building.Since 1994 there have been around 650 closure schemes for consecrated church buildings brought forward under the Mission and Pastoral Measure. In some of those cases, the closed church building will have been sold to other Christian denominations for worship use, and in some cases some occasional worship continues, even if the closed church building is being used for community activities, for example.

Churches: Lincolnshire

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to support churches in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Andrew Selous: The Church Commissioners and National Church Institutions provide support for the mission and ministry of all dioceses in the Church of England.The Church Commissioners have made £340 million available to support a Diocesan Investment Programme overseen by the Strategic Mission and Ministry Board, which includes additional funding and resources for lowest-income communities. The Diocese of Lincoln benefits from the Lowest Income Communities Fund, which is directly supporting the stipendiary ministry of clergy in many areas such as Grimsby, Scunthorpe, Lincoln and Boston.The Diocese of Lincoln has recently launched ‘Time to Change Together’, which is its shared vision for the future of the diocese and its presence in Greater Lincolnshire. You can find out more about the project here: https://www.lincoln.anglican.org/parish-support/a-time-to-change-together/ The Diocese bid for and received a grant from the Strategic Development Fund for a project called 'Resourcing the Urban Church' designed to revitalise churches of all traditions across the urban centres in the diocese.Lincolnshire has one of the highest ratios of churches per head of the population in England, and the Diocese is committed to the stewardship of its historic churches and to supporting new worshipping communities. A new giving scheme has been developed to encourage congregations to support the flourishing of mission and ministry in the Diocese, and plans are being developed for an ‘Open Churches Trust’ to support smaller churches with maintenance and insurance advice.The Diocese is developing new strategies to support clergy well-being. Preventing long-term vacancies and illness is a priority alongside finding sustainable solutions for parishes.For further information about the work underway in Lincolnshire, please contact the area bishop The Rt Revd Dr Nicholas Chamberlain, Bishop of Grantham, whose details are here: https://www.lincoln.anglican.org/contact/directory/

Department for Transport

Aviation: Compensation

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the (a) compensation and (b) care and assistance expenses that passengers are entitled to claim for in cases of significant flight delays.

Anthony Browne: The Government remains committed to protecting the rights of passengers when travelling by air. Regulation (EC) 261/2004 as retained in UK law establishes common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of long delays, cancellations or denied boarding. In June 2023, the Department published its response to the Aviation Consumer Policy Reform Consultation. This set out a commitment to further consultation on the compensation and payment framework across all forms of disruption including cancellations, delays and denied boarding. Furthermore, a Statutory Instrument came into force in the UK on 14 December 2023 to re-state certain EU case law principles in respect of Regulation (EC) 261/2004, to ensure passengers continued to be protected through additional clarity of their rights in the event of flight disruptions.

Driving Tests: Accidents

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the number of accidents during driving tests (a) in total and (b) in vehicles that lack dual control in 2022-23.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the number of driving examiners who were off work as a result of injuries sustained during the examination of drivers in 2022-23.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the costs associated with driving examiners taking time off work as a result of injuries sustained when conducting driving tests.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the risk assessments in place for driving examiners conducting tests in vehicles without dual control.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many driving examiners have raised concerns to the DVSA about the safety of examining drivers in vehicles without dual control.

Guy Opperman: The safety of driving examiners (DE), candidates, and passengers, during the car practical driving test is a top priority for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. All DEs are trained extensively to conduct car practical tests in vehicles fitted with, and without, dual controls. Any concerns raised about conducting a test in a vehicle without dual controls are addressed as part of training, and not recorded separately. The number of ‘accidents and near misses’ that took place during 2022/23 on car practical driving tests was 796; of which 181 involved vehicles not fitted with dual controls. 22.2% of vehicles used for car practical driving tests in 2022/23 were not fitted with dual controls. The DVSA is unable to differentiate between injuries sustained in the workplace, during a driving test, and outside of work. The DVSA is fulfilling its legal obligation to record all risk assessments, including the car driving test risk assessment. The agency has no plans to publish risk assessments.

Aviation: Fuels

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 April 2024 to Question 22401 on Aviation: Fuels, if he will detail the firms and locations of the 13 SAF projects.

Anthony Browne: Company/ProjectProject LocationAbundia Biomass-to-LiquidsTeessideAlfanar Energy LtdTeessideFulcrum BioEnergy LtdEllesmere Port, CheshireLanzatech UK LtdSouth WalesVelocys plcImmingham, LincolnshireVelocys plcTBCArcadia e-Fuels (NABOO)TeessideCarbon Neutral FuelsTBCEsso Petroleum CompanySolentNova Pangaea TechnologiesWilton at TeessideOXCCU TechSheffield’s Translational Energy Research CentreWillis Sustainable FuelsTeessideZero PetroleumOrkney

Treasury

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) officials in his Department on compensation and support for affected Equitable Life policyholders.

Bim Afolami: The Equitable Life Payment Scheme has been fully wound down and closed since 2016 and there are no plans to reopen any previous decisions relating to the Payment Scheme or review the £1.5 billion funding allocation previously made to it. Further guidance on the status of the Payment Scheme after closure is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equitable-life-payment-scheme#closure-of-the-scheme.

Self-employed: Fines

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether self-employed individuals who file their tax returns late but owe no tax are penalised.

Nigel Huddleston: HMRC issues SA tax returns to customers when the information they hold suggests that the customer meets the published criteria for completing one. HMRC often cannot determine someone’s tax liability until they have sent in a tax return, therefore they need the return to establish whether there is tax due or not.​​ Late filing and payment penalties are charged to encourage customers to file on time but we can cancel a customer’s late filing penalty if they have a reasonable excuse. Customers can also ask HMRC to remove them from the SA process for future years if they no longer meet the criteria.​ From October 2011 the penalty legislation changed, from this point the capping of penalties was no longer factored into the calculation and any fixed penalty applied remained at the full amount regardless of liability. Although no change to the current penalty regime has been announced, Penalty Reform within Making Tax Digital will change the way we calculate penalties for late Submission and late payment of tax. The new legislation will factor in the Liability amount, Filing frequency and length of time outstanding within its penalty calculations. In reforming late payment and late filing penalties HMRC’s aim is to encourage those who persistently default to comply with their tax obligations rather than penalise those who make occasional errors.

Cryptocurrencies

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he is developing economic models to forecast (a) price trends and (b) growth potential in cryptocurrencies.

Bim Afolami: The Government is not developing economic models to forecast cryptoasset trends. Rather, it uses information from a range of sources to understand broad trends in the market in order to inform policy development.In October last year, the Treasury published its final proposals for creating the UK’s financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, and is currently working to deliver legislation giving effect to its proposals. As part of this, the government will publish analysis of the impacts of its legislation on cryptoasset businesses in scope of the forthcoming regime in the usual way.

Attorney General

Confucius Institutes: Criminal Investigation

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Attorney General, how many cases have been forwarded to the Prosecution Service concerning people who are based in Confucius Institutes in the last two years.

Robert Courts: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold data on whether defendants are based in or members of Confucius Institutes or indeed any other similar organisations.It would not be possible to determine whether a defendant in any specific case was based in or associated with a Confucius Institute without an examination of CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.